Women of Valor

Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture

Karen E. H. Skinazi

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780813596051
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Honorable Mention for theRobert K. Martin Prize 2019 Media portrayals of Orthodox Jewish women frequently depict powerless, silent individuals who are at best naive to live an Orthodox lifestyle, and who are at worst, coerced into it. Karen E. H. Skinazi delves beyond this stereotype inWomen of Valorto identify a powerful tradition of feminist literary portrayals of Orthodox women, often created by Orthodox women themselves. She examines Orthodox women as they appear in memoirs, comics, novels, and movies, and speaks with the authors, filmmakers, and musicians who create these representations. Throughout the work, Skinazi threads lines from the poem "Eshes Chayil, " the Biblical description of an Orthodox "Woman of Valor." This proverb unites Orthodoxy and feminism in a complex relationship, where Orthodox women continuously question, challenge, and negotiate Orthodox and feminist values. Ultimately, these women create paths that unite their work, passions, and families under the framework of an "Eshes Chayil, " a woman who situates religious conviction within her own power.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• An Unorthodox Guide to Orthodox Judaism
• A Woman of Valor (Proverbs 31:10–31)
• Introduction: She Puts Her Hand to the Distaff
• Chapter 1. A G-d-Fearing Woman, She Should Be Praised: Exposure, Dialogue, and Remedy in “Off-the-Derech ” Narratives
• Chapter 2. A Woman of Valor Who Can Find: Crime Fiction as Primers of Orthodoxy
• Chapter 3. She Opens Her Mouth with Wisdom: This Bridge Called My Voice
• Chapter 4. She Senses That Her Enterprise Is Good: Representations of Orthodox Businesswomen
• Chapter 5. She Will Be Praised at the Gates by Her Very Own Deeds: The Orthodox Artist and the Fruit of Her Hands
• Coda: Many Daughters Have Attained Valor
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author