Peering into the Shadows or Foregrounding the Feminine? Feminist Rewritings of the Parable of the Prodigal

Abstract

This article considers a range of rewritings of the Parable of the Prodigal by contemporary women poets, novelists, preachers and liturgists. Seeking to move beyond mere inclusion of female characters into the parable, we seek to identify rewritings that foreground female perspectives and thereby transform the reading of the biblical text. After considering a range of shorter texts, we offer an extended reading of Marilynne Robinson’s diptych of novels, Gilead and Home. As feminist practical theologians, our concern is to demonstrate how patriarchal texts that, in their original form, exclude women may be re-read/written in ways that not only include the feminine but seriously engage with women’s experience and perspectives. As such, we hope this article may offer clues to preachers, teachers and pastors, as well as scholars, of ways of engaging creatively with patriarchal biblical texts so that they may become empowering for female readers and hearers.