The Bible and Cultural Studies
1 total work
This book constructs the character of Mary found in the infancy narratives through the lived experiences of Indian surrogate mothers living in contemporary India today. The motherhood performed by these mothers helps us see Mary and her choice to become a mother to Jesus in a more complex and ambiguous light. The character of Mary has often been cast as that of either an empowered mother or a victimized woman. This book complicates her character by reading the infancy narratives in conjunction with postcolonial theory, gender, and sexuality studies, and race/whiteness theories. Sharon Jacob constructs a maternal figure who is both a hero and a victim, performing a maternal love that at once liberates and oppresses her.