Judaic Evil Myths in Latin American Women Writers
In: Illuminating the Dark Side: Evil, Women and the FeminineSearch for other papers by Zoila Clark in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
This is a literary study of a play by Cristina Escofet: ‘Qué Pasó con Betty Davis?’ [‘Whatever Happened to Betty Davis?’] (2001) and two stories by Allende: Eva Luna (1987), and Los cuentos de Eva Luna [The Stories of Eva Luna] (1989), which feature the return of the mythical character Lillith with a feminist theme. The biblical myth of Lillith from the Talmud tells that she was Adam’s first wife and that she was punished by God for defending sexual pleasure and leaving her partner. On the one hand, Lillith represents the woman who rebels against the patriarchal order that controls her sexuality, and on the other, the individual who decides to live as an independent woman. Both of these stances make her a threat to the divine order. Escofet believes that Lillith has made frequent appearances throughout history in the guise of rebellious women traditionally labeled as bad. These include Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn, The Bloody Countess, Mata Hari, and Bette Davis among others. Allende, in contrast, reconstructs the myth of Eve as a ‘pícara’, or, we might say, as the original Lillith. Her character recounts not only her own adventures and experiences but also those of other women who, in their rebellious opposition to traditional female roles, are considered bad or perverse. In these stories we find sexually precocious girls, prostitutes, mixed family groupings, and homosexual relationships presented as alternative possibilities for social organization. The resulting effect is that rather than being demonized, these independent women who break free of convention are reinterpretated as flexible individuals who are able to adapt. While such alternative models are taken from real life, it is in fiction that they may be considered to have come into full bloom.