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Female Embodiment and the Ascetic Impulse: in Search of a Theology of the Female Body

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Female Embodiment and the Ascetic Impulse: in Search of a Theology of the Female Body FEMALE EMBODIMENT AND THE ASCETIC IMPULSE: IN SEARCH OF A THEOLOGY OF THE FEMALE BODY Alyson Staunton Thesis Submitted for the Award of PhD School of Theology, Philosophy and Music Dublin City University Primary Supervisor: Dr Ethna Regan Secondary Supervisor: Dr Gabriel Flynn August 2019 Declaration I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work, that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright, and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: ___________________ (Candidate) ID No.: 14112621 Date: _______________ In memory of Owen Raymond Staunton and Josephine O’Brien Acknowledgements My first debt of gratitude is to the Mater Dei Educational and Research Trust for the award of the Lane Doctoral Scholarship which enabled me to conduct this research. I am indebted to my primary supervisor, Dr Ethna Regan. Not only was her door ever open, but she was always unfailingly patient with my queries and provided me with many opportunities to progress. Dr Regan provided kindness, encouragement and rigorous critique, and for this I will be forever grateful. I would also like to thank my secondary supervisor, Dr Gabriel Flynn, who was inestimably helpful in his close reading of this thesis is in its various iterations. Both Dr Regan and Dr Flynn allowed me to pursue my research as I saw fit – a gift to any doctoral student – and, most importantly, challenged me to properly articulate and refine my arguments. To both of them, thank you. Dr Brad Anderson read the thesis is in its entirey, at very short notice, and his comments were very gratefully received. Dr Joseph Rivera also kindly read sections of this thesis and provided guidance. Additionally, I would like to thank my former supervisor, Dr Cathriona Russell of Trinity College Dublin, who encouraged me to apply for a place on this programme. Finally, I thank my beloved family – especially my mother, Geraldine – and friends for their support. They believed, when I doubted, that I would complete this project. Needless to say, any and all errors in this work are my own. Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... i Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................ ii Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Female Embodiment in the Patristic Era ........................................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Historical Bodies I: Continent Woman ................................................................................... 1 1.3. Theoretical Bodies I: Eve Eschaton(ed) ................................................................................ 11 1.4. Medical Bodies I: Leaking Bodies ........................................................................................ 17 1.5. Asceticism I: The Virile Woman and Virgin Bride .............................................................. 2 0 1.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 2: Female Embodiment in the Medieval Era ..................................................................... 30 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 30 2.2. Historical Bodies II: Material Woman .................................................................................. 30 2.3. Theoretical Bodies II: Suffering Somatised .......................................................................... 41 2.3.1. The Crucified Christ ............................................................................................................. 41 2.3.2. Encountering Christ in the Suffering Female Body .............................................................. 4 4 2.3.3. Mother, Lover and Bride ....................................................................................................... 49 2.4. Medical Bodies II: Leaking Bodies Redux ........................................................................... 55 2.5. Asceticism II: The Holy Faster ............................................................................................. 60 2.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 65 Chapter 3: Female Embodiment in the Modern Era ....................................................................... 67 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 67 3.2. Historical Bodies III: Right Ordered Woman ....................................................................... 67 3.3. Theoretical Bodies III: Querelle Debates and the Cartesian Turn ....................................... 75 3.4. Medical Bodies III: Pathology and the Feminine ................................................................. 81 3.5. Asceticism III: The Hysteric and Chlorotic .......................................................................... 86 3.5.1. Hysteria ................................................................................................................................. 88 3.5.2. Chlorosis ............................................................................................................................... 94 3.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 97 Chapter 4: Female Embodiment in the Postmodern Era ................................................................ 99 4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 99 4.2. Historical Bodies IV: Emancipated Woman ......................................................................... 99 4.3. Theoretical Bodies IV: Eliding Bodies ............................................................................... 106 4.3.1. Post-structuralism: From Foucault to Butler ....................................................................... 106 4.3.2. Affirming the Body: Irigaray and Material Feminism ........................................................ 110 4.4. Medical Bodies IV: Pathology and the Feminine Redux .................................................... 112 4.5. Asceticism IV: The Anorectic............................................................................................. 115 4.6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 5: Contemporary Theologies and the Female Body ........................................................ 126 5.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 126 5.2. Gender Complementarity in Contemporary Catholicism ................................................... 127 5.2.1. John Paul II, Hans Urs von Balthasar and Catholic Complementarity ............................... 133 5.2.1.1. The Body as Gift ......................................................................................................... 139 5.2.1.2. The Body as Sacrament ............................................................................................... 140 5.2.1.3. The Body as Essential ................................................................................................. 141 5.2.2. Critique of Theology of the Body ....................................................................................... 143 5.3. The Body in Feminist Theologies ....................................................................................... 147 5.3.1. The Argument ..................................................................................................................... 147 5.3.2. Critique of Feminist Theologies ......................................................................................... 154 5.4. Body Theologies ................................................................................................................. 161 5.4.1. The Argument ..................................................................................................................... 161 5.4.2. Critique of Body Theologies ............................................................................................... 166 5.5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 168 Chapter 6: A Sacramental Ontology of the Female Body ............................................................. 169 6.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................
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