Week 5: Christian Themes and New Interest for Men

For this weeks reading, I found that there were more Christian themes and new interest for men. A lot of the stories we have read previously, where, somewhat putting women as mermaids in which they were sexualized, lusted, dangerous, but in this weeks, reading, we kind of continue that theme of the siren, where women now offer men knowledge. Some of the reading for me was a little bit difficult to understand, but what I picked up on from “The Legend of Melusina” and the other three versions of the same tale was sort of the curiosity of the unknown. This theme almost reminded me of somewhat the Christian sort of wanting the readers to fear this unknown or better yet stay true to their promises and have faith. The stories, in a way, reminded me of Adam and Eve, and not trusting that same serpent symbol. If Eve were to have simply listened to what God said, then there would be no trouble, and in this case, if the king were to have listened and not seen Melusina on Saturday, then all would have been well. It’s as if the church was trying to push the message that you need to have faith and discipline, regardless of your curiosity of the unknown; to essentially not be led into temptation. I just enjoyed how, in this case, the unknown was the sort of knowledge thing rather than the temptation of a woman’s body, or what women might dangerously do. This is the sort of spreading I was used to before coming into this class, rather than putting women into negative light in order to teach them and spread messages.

2 thoughts on “Week 5: Christian Themes and New Interest for Men

  1. Hey Carina! I love the topic that you selected and found the concept of women with knowledge very interesting as well. I think that how you tie the idea of fearing women with knowledge into Christian teachings is deep and insightful. I also agree that it feels good to see woman wanted for their minds versus them being targeted for their bodies.

  2. Hi Carina,
    I like how you connected these Christian ideals to this reading as it’s interesting to see how religion ties in to the interpretation of these stories. It’s definitely refreshing to see women in a more empowering light and challenging the traditional stereotypes. I also found some of the reading hard to understand, but it’s a lot easier when you read about what other people’s think of the piece.

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