A Story of Women's Suffering

Abstract

Abstract This article offers a gender reading of a brief dialogue between Rabbi Hiyya and his wife, Judith. Treated in light of Carol Gilligan and Judith Butler, the account reveals a female character who is surprisingly able to manipulate the masculine realm to her own ends. Faced with extreme pain in childbirth, Judith chooses not to approach her husband relationally, in what Gilligan would describe as a typically feminine mode of communication. Instead, Judith disguises herself and confronts him in the masculine sphere of the court setting. Her choice of location and approach suggests, as Butler might argue, that her disguise is actually an example of male drag, and her successful performance in the masculine sphere earns her the right to opt out of the system it oversees.