DOI: https://doie.org/10.0701/NER.2024278859
Ann Maria Davis , Dr. Abhaya N B
Keywords:Jeet Thayyil, Biblical Women, Feminism, Patriarchy, Christianity.
Creating a counter-culture through literary spaces has been a mark of a post-modern society, where the exchange of ideas is possible by deconstructing established power relations. Biblical retellings highlight the need to reassess the representation of women in the Bible. Such retellings offer a newer perspective and invite the reader to create a new identity for Biblical women. Jeet Thayil’s Names of the Women questions the established patriarchal power relations of the New Testament. Thayil retells the stories of fifteen women who were presented as trivial characters in the scriptural spaces. This paper argues that when the stories are told from women’s perspectives, their power definitions attain a newfound realm and thus become a tool for further readings and empowerment. Employing the Biblical feminist framework, this paper provides insights into reclaiming women's agency, power and leadership in the New Testament from a feminist perspective.