Home >> The Modern Language Review, Volume 104, Number 2

Re-Visions, Fictionalizations, and Postfigurations: The Myth of Judith in the Twentieth Century

Author: Ziolkowski, Theodore

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 104, Number 2, 1 April 2009 , pp. 311-332(22)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

This paper uses the biblical legend of Judith to explore the various forms through which myth has been adapted in modern thought and literature. Works by Hebbel, Weininger, Freud, and Sacher-Masoch, as well as contemporary feminist criticism, suggest the principal intellectual revisions that the myth has undergone. Stella Wilchek's novel Judith exemplies better than any other the modern fictionalization of the biblical theme. And Rolf Hochhuth's `dramatic novel' Judith stands above other postfigurations of the tale. From all these works, myth emerges as an action embodying eternal issues of pressing urgency.

Keywords: Judith; myth; Hebbel; Weininger; Freud; Sacher-Masoch; feminist criticism; revisions; Stella Wilchek; fictionalization; Rolf Hochhuth; postfigurations

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Princeton University

Publication date: 2009-04-01

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  • The Modern Language Review, the flagship journal of the Association, is available to all individual members as part of their subscription. MLR is one of the oldest journals in its field, maintaining an unbroken publication record since its foundation in 1905, and publishing more than 3,000 articles and 20,000 book reviews.

    Each volume consists of four issues, published in January, April, July and October of each year. Its 1000+ annual pages are divided roughly equally between articles, predominantly on medieval and modern literature in the languages of Europe, and over 500 reviews of books in these areas. All contributions are in English, and each section is edited by a noted scholar in the field, under the overall supervision of the General Editor. Articles are chosen not only for their scholarly worth and originality but also, as far as possible, for their potential interest to a wider readership in other disciplines.
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