The Biblical Story of Salome
Oscar Wilde had long been fascinated by the Biblical story of Salomé, princess of
Judea, who danced for King Herod and asked for the head of St John the Baptist in return.
So he decided to write down his own version of the tale; however, Wilde's Salomé turned
out to be something quite special, and not just because it was written in French.
The Gospel according to Mark and Matthew
According to the Gospels, St John is beheaded on instigation of Herodias, Queen
of Judea, who is fed up with the prophet's comments on her incestuous marriage with her
brother-in-law, King Herod. Herodias tells her dancing daughter (who is not given a
name) to ask for the head of the prophet as a reward for her skill, and the girl dutifully
obeys. King Herod has no other choice but the grant the girl's wish.
The Gospel according to Wilde
The play is all about the sudden consuming passion of Salomé, daughter of Queen
Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, for the prophet Jokanaan, and his fierce
rejection of her love. Hurt and humiliated, Salomé swears she will kiss Jokanaan's lips.
When Herod, lusting after his stepdaughter, urges her to dance, she does so, only after he
has promised to give her whatever she may ask of him. In Wilde's interpretation, Salomé
is not just be her mother's tool, but a girl with a will of her own. She then asks for the
head of Jokanaan on a silver platter. Very reluctantly, but forced to be true to his word,
Herod fulfills his promise. At the climax of the play, Salomé finally kisses the lips of
Jokanaan's severed head with such passion that Herod, horrified (and jealous?), orders his
soldiers to kill her.
Salomé is judged incredibly perverse and cruel because she demands the head of
Jokanaan, the man who scorns her love. But what to say of Jokanaan himself? The
cruelty in his treatment of the young Princess is considerable. We must not forget that
Salomé is, contrary to her mother Herodias, not a wanton, and she is not at all
enable her to surmount the many obstacles she would face. She would endure the untimely death of both parents as a teenager and would be forced to raise her
The play moves into the woods which is haunted by fairies who are there to bless the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. The quarreling between Oberon and Titania over the changeling boy leads to the king wanting to embarrass Titania with the love juice by making her fall in love with a monster. The first person she sees is Bottom and she falls violently in love with him.
From the beginning, Hermia defiantly denies her father’s attempts at an arranged marriage, in favor of her whirlwind romance with and marriage to Lysander. In her defense, she uses words of chastity and moral purity to claim her fidelity and love towards Lysander and inability to wed Demetrius “I know not by what power I am made bold / nor how it may concern my modesty” (pp). The concern, or befitting, of Hermia’s modesty, by not wedding Demetrius, is protecting the very essence of her womanhood from someone whom she feels isn’t worth of the ultimate consummation of love – marriage (and the subsequent sex). This is continued in her next dialogue, where Hermia states that she would rather die “quote” (pp) or become a nun than give up her virgin “privilege” “quote” (pp). Hermia’s claims of “privilege” and “sovereignty” validate her chastity and moral purity as something that should only be shared with Lysander, not Demetrius. However, the sovereignty of Hermia’s claims also fits in with Demetrius’ arguments regarding his rights to Hermia’s hand in marriage: “quote” (pp). Demetrius’ use of “sovereignty” and “right” turns the supposed “love” of Hermia and Demetrius’ arranged marriage into a legal contract, where Hermia is property and social placeholder instead of a loving companion.
The role of women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days is outstandingly subordinate. There are a number of times in Hesiod's text that despises women, being mortal, immortal, or flesh-eating monsters. The overall impression of women from Theogony and Works and Days, leads one to believe that Hesiod is a misogynist.
came into her family heritage that she should get anything that she wants from her mom. In
From start to finish, one could see how much Mariam values Laila, Aziza, and their friendship. The first example is when Mariam vows to help Laila while they are in the hospital for Laila’s unborn child: “I’ll get you seen, Laila jo. I promise” (287). This simple promise is a deep portrayal of Mariam’s desire to help Laila find a doctor and deliver her baby. Additionally, one can see Mariam’s love for Laila when she protects her from Rasheed’s grip of death, “‘Rasheed.’ He looked up. Mariam swung. She hit him across the temple. The blow knocked him off Laila” (348). Rasheed was going to kill Laila, but Mariam steps in and knocks him off of her with a shovel to save her life. Mariam forms a tight-knit bond with Laila, and when Hosseini includes their relationship, one can see how Mariam values Laila enough to kill another man. The author also describes their relationship after Mariam and Laila discuss plans for leaving: “When they do, they’ll find you as guilty as me. Tariq too. I won’t have the two of you living on the run like fugitives.” … “Laila crawled to her and again put her head on Mariam’s lap. She remembered all the afternoons they’d spent together, braiding each other’s hair, Mariam listening patiently to her random thoughts and ordinary stories with an air of gratitude, with the expression of a person to whom a unique and coveted privilege had been extended” (358). The love Mariam has for
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT EPISTLES. 2004. 21 October 2004. Qur’an, The Cow [Baqarah] 2:223, P. 47.
Even though her husband treats her with what seem at first as love, it becomes clear she is nothing more to him than a piece of property. Every time he talks to her, he asks her to get better for his sake and the children's, and only after mentions hers interests. He doesn't think that she has any normal human feelings or worries and attributes her behavior to minor nervous depression. He doesn't see her true suffering since he believes "there is no reason to suffer" (574). He could never understand that a woman can be unsatisfied with the role imposed on her by society. Even though the heroine recognizes that her condition is caused by something other than John's theory, she is too scared to voice her opinion.
She even insults him by telling him that the only way he’ll be able to prove his manhood to her is to commit murder, since he hasn’t already proved it to her by “giving her a son.” That was a very, very harsh insult because in those times, males were everything. (p.9, The Follies of Power)
Jealousy is an act of revenge which causes violence and death. Having the power to curse others by hatred is an act of jealousy. The goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite has a lot of power. Aphrodite, uses her power against those who are better than her in looks, intelligence or even those who are happy and are loved or have love towards someone. Aphrodite uses her powers as a goddess to punish women or men at times it is for a good cause and at times it’s done out of revenge. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty is beautiful and attracts many men and gods however she is someone who appears to be someone she is not. Staying away from Aphrodite might be the only way of being saved from her curses which cause pain and destroys lives in a hurtful and long lasting way.
what a weak character she is. When Hamlet harasses her and tells her to go to a nunnery
However, the ideal relationships are not immune to experiencing unharmonious periods. Despite this, the ideal couples eventually found harmony which allowed them to experience a joyous ending. Lysander and Hermia have a harmonious relationship in that they display similar desires and mindsets. In the beginning, after declaring their love for one another Lysander and Hermia devise a plan to run away and elope (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.156-178). Even when they are not of the same mindset Hermia and Lysander find an amicable solution. After becoming lost in the forest, Lysander’s desire is for them to sleep together, Hermia refuses for fear of the disgrace that would be placed upon her if for some reason they did not become married. Even though Lysander is a reluctant he respects her wishes (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.47-67). On the other hand, the relationship between Oberon and Titania in spite of being plagued by dysfunction comes to a harmonious agreement. At the beginning Titania and Oberon are quarreling over the control of an Indian changeling boy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.18-31). While under the influence of an enchantment that Oberon had placed on her Titania relinquishes the control of the changeling boy to Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 4.1.56-60). After the enchantment is removed from her Titania no longer has feelings of defiance toward Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s
In this passage from the play it is very clear that Wilde likes to give
King Nebuchadnezzar’s seventeenth year of reign of the Assyrians, made war with King Arphaxad, who ruled the Medes. King Nebuchadnezzar had many nations join forces with him. King Nebuchadnezzar and his forces defeated Arphaxad and his army that summer. Nebuchadnezzar and his men took over Arphaxad’s cities and towers and turned the city into shame. Then King Nebuchadnezzar struck Arphaxad with spears and destroyed him.
Wilde himself was a rather religious man. This was shown in many of his writings. He displayed this aspect of his life in his works like “The Selfish Giant.” The giant in the story is a very religious man. This is also a little ironic because the giant is a large, intimidating figure. However, we see that he has a soft side like everyone us. The giant’s faith allows him to reunite with his lost friend, the boy. This, in a way, is Wilde’s way of asking for forgiveness for the bad things that he has done in his life. This is evident because the giant himself received forgiveness and got what he wanted. This is yet another example of Wilde expressing some of his own thoughts and desires throughout his writings. His worries, too, are shared with his readers. Wilde was a firm believer in the Christian set of morals. He also thought that if one acted with proper Christian behavior, then that person would be rewarded for his or her actions. This was especially the case when it came to the afterlife. For him, Christian morals meant some sort of happiness after death.