This paper focuses on the essay collection Women in the Bible by Japanese writer Shusaku Endo and the “Women in the Bible” series by Chinese-American female writer Shi Wei. By comparing the differences and similarities between the two works, this study aims to illuminate their respective creative characteristics and further explore the varying approaches of Japanese and Chinese Christian literature in interpreting the Bible.
Endo portrays eleven women, including the prostitute who wet Christ’s feet with her tears, Veronica who wiped Christ’s blood-stained face with a cloth, the hemorrhaging woman, the maid of the high priest Caiaphas, Herodias who seduced the ruler Herod, Salome (Herodias’ daughter who gained John the Baptist’s head), Mary Magdalene, Martha as an archetype of a good wife and wise mother, the wife of the Roman governor Pilate, the Virgin Mary, and additionally, the Virgin of Lourdes. Endo explores their interactions with Christ and develops a humanistic perspective on the “solidarity of suffering.” In contrast, Shi Wei selects four women?Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman, and the bent woman?and provides detailed depictions of individuals who are only briefly mentioned in the Bible, effectively giving voice to their inner pain and desires.
The creative perspectives of the two authors align closely with their differing literary concerns. Endo focuses on an emotional solidarity between women and Christ, portraying Him as the sole figure capable of understanding women’s pain and sorrow. The only woman not granted Christ’s salvation is Herodias, who is indifferent to the suffering of others?a reflection of Endo's portrayal of Christ as a "companion in shared suffering." Shi Wei, however, takes a bolder approach, expressing the women’s emotions towards Jesus as intense, passionate, and enduring. While immersed in dire circumstances, these women perceive Jesus as the object of their ultimate self-realization.
동북아시아문화학회 [The Association of North-east Asian Cultures]
설립연도
2000
분야
복합학>학제간연구
소개
동북아시아 문화의 다양성과 정체성을 연구 토론하고, 지역내 문화 교류의 다양한 모습을 연구하고 문화변동의 큰 틀을 집적함으로써 우리 민족 문화 및 상대 민족의 문화적 터전을 이해하여 문화공동체적 특성을 계발하고 상호 관련성의 강화를 유도하는 학술활동을 통해 동북아시아의 문화발전에 이바지함.