Mother God

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Julian of Norwich was one of the first few and probably the most well-known female writers to conceive of God as a nurturing mother figure within the Trinity. The author points out that, although Julian feminized her vision of God, she was not a feminist herself because she was willing to accept her subservient role in the society and found comfort in this status, which she associated with being in God's care. The paper relates that Julian uses two images, which have become widely discussed in feminist writings: (1) The hazelnut that she evokes as the representation of the womb and the potential to give birth and (2) The flow of blood as 'a living stream' that she employs in her discussion of Christ's suffering and the blood that appeared. The paper includes several quotations.

From the Paper:

"Before the 13th century, women had come to occupy a vital role in the society. They were important figures in household and other matters and even in the Church, women were assigned roles of clerical authority. But the status of women declined gradually to the point that in the late 14th century when Julian composed her visionary writings, she found herself in a male dominated society. But this male dominance was relatively new and women still had some memories of the time when they had the upper hand."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bradley, Ritamary. "Julian of Norwich: Writer and Mystic." In Szarmach. 195--216.
• Julian of Norwich, Showings. Trans. Edmund Colledge, and James Walsh. New York: Paulist, 1978.
• Beer, Frances F. Women and Mystical Experience in the Middle Ages. Rochester, NY: Boydell P, 1992.

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• Book Review # 97146 : "The Kitchen God's Wife"--A Review"

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