No Dizzy Spells!

[mari4212]

That is my happiness for the day. I managed to get through the day without dizzing out. Glee!

We're starting a new section in my Religion class today, what the teacher refers to as the "Porno Section". Want to know how you can put a picture of a naked woman on your wall and not get in trouble? Just say it's religious.

Seriously, we're covering the images of a few Old Testament women, and how the art we see reflects our focus on the story. This is going to be our group project part, and my group got Bathsheba. We've already decided to bring in a more modern treatment of her story, and it's already got us thinking. The whole focus of that story is on David's sin, specifically his sin against Uriah. Now, there's no denying that Uriah gets the bad end of the deal, what with getting killed and all, but at the same time, Bathsheba's feelings are ignored. And then, when Nathan comes to David, and tells the parable to make David think, what is Bathsheba turned into? A sheep. And then we get to the modern re-telling that we are going to include, in which Bathsheba is further objectified. She gets turned into a rubber ducky for crying out loud! It's definitely going to be interesting.

For once I'm stealing a quiz from LJ, instead of the other way around. But I really like what I got, and like she said, for once the quiz maker seems to posess a brain and proper grammar.


You're a little gold key, and you unlock other
people's hearts. Your kindness and willingness
to be there for those you care about lets
people open up to you knowing they will be
accepted. People will rely on you, but be
careful not to give more than you have.


What sort of key are you and what do you unlock?
brought to you by Quizilla

Cool, huh?

Comments

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

Hehe, quiz-snitching is fun, eh? Yours is cool; I like what I got, too.

Very interesting on Bathsheba! I never really thought about her being "objectified" before. I've always been a little skeptical of "King George...", if only because telling that story to little kids seems a bit...gratuitous? But I never considered what it did to Bathsheba. Fascinating.

Yay for no dizziness! Hope it continues.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

But on the other hand, it does have the wonders of the 'flan-o-gram'. The message that they draw from it was good, and they managed to express the themes of the story in a non-sexualized way, which I did like. But at the same time, it seems like everywhere you go, the focus is on what David did to Uriah, and David's greed. Bathsheba's opinion doesn't seem to register.

And really, David had enough problems with his wives and various children, did he really need more?

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

The message that they draw from it was good, and they managed to express the themes of the story in a non-sexualized way, which I did like.

That is certainly true.

And really, David had enough problems with his wives and various children, did he really need more?

Hehe. Men, they never learn... ;)

Women as property - Dad

[(Anonymous)]

Considering that women were considered to be the property of their family before they were married, and their husbands after they were married, it's no surprise that Bathsheba's feelings were ignored. The only advantage in being ignore that way is that her sin or sins were not commented on either - only David's sin. In real life, there was probably enough blame to go around - David's lust and covetousness, possible enticement and/or exhibitionism on the part of Bathsheba, and not paying attention to his wife on the part of Uriah. (Otherwise, why would she try to attract David?). The point of the story seems to be that much was given to David, and much more was expected of David too. That's why Nathan criticizes him, and nobody else.

Re: Women as property - Dad

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

She was in a private space, taking a ritual bath as her religion instructed. They didn't have much in the way of indoor bathrooms back then. How is that enticement? David only saw her because he was standing on his roof, presumably at an angle that would let him see her.

And Uriah was obeying the laws set forth for soldiers. They were not supposed to lie with a woman while they were at war, it was considered a diminishment of virility.

The sin lies with David, and while I can understand the mindset in that day focusing on David's sin against Uriah, you'd think that these days the focus would include David's sin against Bathsheba.

Re: Women as property - Dad

[(Anonymous)]

I agree that the focus is on David's sin, and not just against Uriah. The psalms (Psalm 51) show David realizing the sin was against God. What's missing is the back story - what was happening with Bathsheba and Uriah. All we can do is speculate.

David first saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. Obviously, the palace was near Uriah's house, and taller than the house, in order to give David the view. Three possibilities:

1) David was a peeping Tom, looking out over all of the houses nearby for someone who might be attractive, and spotted Bathsheba first.

2) It was all pure accident. David wanted out of the palace, and Bathsheba was modestly bathing in the only secluded place she could find, and it was pure bad fortune that David saw her.

3) Bathsheba set out to attract David's attention, and decided to bathe when she knew David would be watching. There are three possible motivations here as well.

a) Uriah treated her badly, and she wanted an "out".
b) Bathsheba was ambitious and wanted to move up in the world.
c) Bathsheba was just a "bad girl".

You could write a whole series of backstories, picking from these possibilities, with everyone involved varying from innocent victim to outright wicked, and still match up with the facts.

The ultimate point of the story is that David behaved badly, like any king except God would do. The others in the story, Uriah, bathsheba, nathan and the innocent baby are all cyphers. The only real story that is important to the writer is David. So it's not just Bathsheba that is treated as an object - so is everyone else.