The Life and Text of Julian of Norwich (Studies in the Humanities (Peter Lang), Vol 32) [Hardcover]

M. Diane F. Krantz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | Series: Studies in the Humanities (Peter Lang), Vol 32 (Book 32)

The Life and Text of Julian of Norwich considers the Long Text of the Medieval mystic Julian of Norwich from a literary and rhetorical perspective. Dr. Krantz analyzes Julian's text as a product of both the mystic's piety and the pressures of her time. Julian's calling and her text are reflected in and reflect, structurally, imagistically, and thematically, the centrality of the enclosing Mother in her life and thoughts.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

This fascinating and innovative reading of Julian of Norwich's Long Text explores and contextualizes the fourteenth-century mystic's various evocations of protective motherhood, from her famous 'Jesus as Mother' dictum to her own choice of a life of physical enclosure and the images and structures of enclosure in her vision-inspired text. Thus, in a simultaneously feminist, theological, and psychoanalytical approach, Dr. Krantz addresses areas where discourses of text and body meet, deftly showing how Julian valorizes both male and female bodies, relates warmly to a God having both male and female attributes, and offers an implicit challenge to the Church's traditional denigration of female sexuality.

Review

With its meticulous attention to the intrinsic dynamics of Julian's long and short texts, this study is a convincing argument that metaphors and images of enclosure validate the mystic's choice of a life of enclosure and her own text as the product of her enclosure. The tightly focused analysis of the enclosure metaphor radiating through images of the womb and the relationship of soul and God generates an appropriate interpretation of the trope of Jesus as Mother and commentary on Julian's view of her femininity as well as her theology and spirituality. -- Mary E. Giles, California State University, Sacramento

Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820436623
• ISBN-13: 978-0820436623
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,603,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Julian's winsome self-understanding disclosed, June 26, 2001

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This review is from: The Life and Text of Julian of Norwich (Studies in the Humanities (Peter Lang), Vol 32) (Hardcover)

I wondered when ordering whether this book was overpriced or not. My answer after reading the book: it may be a bit pricey, but the content is well worth reading (a few glaring misprints notwithstanding.) Krantz makes clear at the start of this academic study her personal stakes in the issues she seeks to explore, a stance which helped me to gauge where she was coming from. She combines literary/structural analysis of the text, word studies, and psychoanalytical categories to show that Julian's text is informed by and in return informs her understanding of her enclosed life as an anchoress. The ideas of humanity being enclosed in God, of enclosing God within our souls, of birth and birthing, and of Jesus as Mother are explored in gentle yet convincing ways, and one leaves with the impression that Julian's way of theologizing is experiential, tentative, self-reflective, and other-inviting. Would that more theologians had half of Julian's confident humility and winsome integrity. This slim volume helped me to better understand Julian, and to see my own life as enclosed in God's love.