The Great Whore of Babylon in the Vision of Apocalypse 17. a Gender
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Regensburg Publication Server The Great Whore of Babylon in the Vision of Apocalypse 17. A gender-informed approach bridging the gap between socio-historical and feminist-critical interpretations. A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Theology Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Tobias Nicklas Phd Candidate: Maria Hladiuc Faculty of Roman-Catholic Theology University of Regensburg Acknowledgments I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Tobias Nicklas, my Doktorvater, who offered me unconditioned guidance and invaluable support in accomplishing this endeavour. His propensity for detail set an example for academic consistency, which has influenced and shaped the current research. Apart from his professional assistance, I would like to thank Tobias Nicklas for his warm engagement and the chance to learn from him, despite the linguistic, cultural and geographical barriers. His understanding and efforts are dearly appreciated. I gratefully acknowledge the support from Koordinationsstelle Chancengleichheit & Familie of University Regensburg, in particular Katja Weber-Khan and Kerstin Schlögl-Flierl. My thanks go to my former colleagues, Augustine Anthony, Tina Hartl and Michael Sommer, whose significant support and encouragements have helped me in times of great distress. I would like to thank my family for their love, patience and belief in me, for their continued encouragements in all my pursuits. I am deeply appreciative of their existence. A warm heart-felt thank you for his prayers goes to Fr. Árpád Bodoni, whose discrete presence and steadfastness are always examples to follow. Thank you to all the others, who contributed through their discussions to this research! 2 Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................................................7 Part I: Laying the Theoretical Foundations ..................................................18 1. Delineating the Feminist Horizon.......................................................................................18 1.1 Main criticism to the historical-critical method from a feminist orientation.................................. 19 Provisional Conclusions (1) ....................................................................................................................31 1.2 Approaches from Socio-critical Perspective...................................................................................34 Provisional Conclusions (2) ....................................................................................................................44 1.3 Approaches belonging to Literary Criticism ...................................................................................47 Provisional Conclusions (3) ....................................................................................................................63 1.4 Feminist Contribution to understanding of the above mentioned Perspectives ............................ 66 1.5. Delineating feminist perspectives with regard to ‘apocalypse’ and Apocalypse ........................... 73 General Assessment...............................................................................................................................77 2. History of Research ...........................................................................................................88 2.1 Coordinates of the main analyses of feminine imagery in the Apocalypse of John ........................ 89 2.1.1 Gendered images overall in the Apocalypse....................................................................... 89 2.1.2 Some relevant examples of gender-informed analysis of Apocalypse 17.......................... 101 Political focuses on the Great Whore ..................................................................................................105 Literary Readings of the Great Whore .................................................................................................110 Sociological Readings of the Great Whore...........................................................................................118 Mythological Focus ..............................................................................................................................121 Rhetographical Focus...........................................................................................................................123 The Great Whore as constitutive to Slander Discourse .......................................................................125 Assessment..................................................................................................................................128 Part II: The Vision of the Great Whore in Apocalypse 17:1-6......................133 Introduction........................................................................................................................133 i. Identifying the Problem ...............................................................................................137 ii. The Construction of the Gendered Metaphor ...............................................................139 Textual Compositional Elements .........................................................................................................140 Implied Elements .................................................................................................................................142 1. Introduction to Vision: vv. 1-2......................................................................................146 3 1.1 Introducing the Protagonists ....................................................................................................... 146 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls ................................................................................148 Spoke to me .........................................................................................................................................149 The judgment of the Great Whore ......................................................................................................152 Seated upon many waters ...................................................................................................................158 1.2 Provisional Assessment (1) .......................................................................................................... 164 1.3 Reasons for Judgment ................................................................................................................. 166 The kings of the earth fornicated with her ..........................................................................................168 The inhabitants of the earth have become inebriated ........................................................................170 The wine of her fornication .................................................................................................................171 1.4 Provisional Assessment (2) .......................................................................................................... 173 1.5 Feminist Substance of Interest .................................................................................................... 174 2. General Overview of the Vision (17:3-6)...........................................................................180 2.1. Preliminary Methodical Considerations and Structural Overview............................................... 180 3. Posture ...........................................................................................................................187 3.1. Setting........................................................................................................................................ 187 And he carried me away ......................................................................................................................187 In the spirit...........................................................................................................................................189 To a desert ...........................................................................................................................................191 Further associations and contrasts .............................................................................................195 Summary .....................................................................................................................................198 3.2 Description of the Whore and the Beast. Introduction ................................................................ 200 And I saw..............................................................................................................................................201 A woman ..............................................................................................................................................203 Excursus on the apocalyptic use of ‘woman’ and its associations ..............................................204 Seated ..................................................................................................................................................209 Upon a scarlet beast ............................................................................................................................212 Summary .....................................................................................................................................216