Sin turned upside down into love as a Kristevan reflection on the penitent woman in Luke 7:36-50
The narrative of the penitent woman drying the feet of Christ with her hair, after her profuse weeping (Luke 7:36-50), elicits comments from the poststructuralist philosopher and psychoanalyst, Julia Kristeva. Applying psychoanalysis to the Scripture can suggest different interpretations of a famili...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Practical theology
Year: 2025, Volume: 18, Issue: 5, Pages: 420-429 |
| Further subjects: | B
Forgiveness
B Julia Kristeva B Psychoanalysis B Love B Imaginary |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The narrative of the penitent woman drying the feet of Christ with her hair, after her profuse weeping (Luke 7:36-50), elicits comments from the poststructuralist philosopher and psychoanalyst, Julia Kristeva. Applying psychoanalysis to the Scripture can suggest different interpretations of a familiar text. For Kristeva, the roles of the Imaginary, the fetish, and moorings are considered in the context of a psychic revolt, a turning, a repentance, and forming a new sense of identity. A new sense of self requires a safe, ‘psychic space’, a concept that Kristeva compares to the trusting transference and countertransference between analysand and analyst. Insights gleaned from her oeuvre can be applied to pastoral situations in discipleship and church fellowship. Individuals such as the newly converted or those returning to faith, have a sense of what she calls a ‘frugal musicality’ of identity (a fragile commencement of healing and hope) as they rebuild their Imaginary. |
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| ISSN: | 1756-0748 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Practical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1756073X.2025.2474311 |
