A Desperate Romantic Gesture: Sexuality and Slavery in ‘Joseph and Aseneth’

Full title
A Desperate Romantic Gesture: Sexuality and Slavery in ‘Joseph and Aseneth’
Updated By
Research notes

SHS/not checked/07/02/2019

Reference type
Author(s)
Pawlak, Matthew C.
Year
2018
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Journal of Jewish Studies
Volume
69
Issue / Series Volume
2
Abbreviated Series Name
JJS
Pages
248–255
Work type
Label
04/03/2019
Abstract

Joseph and Aseneth contains two scenes in which its protagonist, Aseneth, prays that God would allow her to become Joseph’s slave, and another instance where she appears to adopt this role by washing his feet (see 6.8; 13.15; 20.1–4). Recent scholarship has done much to demonstrate the utility of exploring Joseph and Aseneth in light of other ancient novels. However, analyses of Aseneth’s desire for servitude have not typically made use of this larger corpus, but have instead focused primarily on the gendered power dynamics operative in the text. This study seeks to understand Aseneth’s petitions for servitude in conversation with numerous parallels ranging across the extant body of ancient novels. These parallels suggest that Aseneth’s desire to become a slave is a stock expression of erotic longing, a desperate romantic gesture typical of characters, across diverse gender relationships, who find a major obstacle between themselves and their beloved.