The Dawn of a New Lilith: Revisionary Mythmaking in Women's Science Fiction

Abstract

�� Women writers of science fiction have found a venue for female characters who not only defy mythic conventions, but also refashion them. In C.L. Moore’s “Fruit of Knowledge” and Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn we witness a careful revisioning of the myth of Lilith. Within these women’s fictions, Lilith does more than threaten male protagonists; she evolves into a complex hero belying the stereotypes that typically restrict female characters. Vacillating between the images of wicked temptress and fond mother, the Lilith emerging from women’s science fiction presents a new feminine image, one reflecting a diversification of women’s roles in contemporary culture. In this essay, I investigate the myth of Lilith as it is revisioned in women’s science fiction. My purpose is three-fold: 1) to examine traces of Lilith that have been present in science fiction, and make this genre a ready site for a revisionist Lilith myth; 2) to point to the ways Moore and Butler manipulate, challenge, and recreate the myth of Lilith in their fictions; and 3) to probe the cultural consequences of these new myths. In the science fiction genre, the revisioned Lilith reflects the myths and experiences of alien minorities, namely, Jewish and African American women.