Four unconventional women of the Old Testament Hebrew Bible dominate this exploration into the nature of female identity: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. They are all mentioned in the New Testament as foremothers of Jesus, and all have stories notable for their transgressive sexuality. In a patriarchal world, the experience of the divine in female form can only emerge through transgressions, and Rusca was fascinated by the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (different from the virgin birth of Jesus), in which the Virgin Mary is believed to have been born free from any sin. It was declared an infallible dogma of the Catholic church in 1854. Rusca sees the dogma as a repression of the divine feminine, and through the insights of Carl Jung applies the concept of the sacred prostitute whose sexuality is bound up with her divinity through the lives of key Old Testament women. In a story which resonates with women's power, Tamar disguises herself as a harlot to entrap Judah when he fails to make good on his promise to marry her to his son. Rahab uses her identity as a prostitute to save representatives of the people of Israel, and thus becomes a foremother. Ruth brings down the feminine soul to inhabit the identity of daughterhood. The author admits that Ruth's story did not appeal to her as a teenager, but later she felt her namesake's presence as an invisible companion. Bathsheba, King David's concubine, transmits the collective Jungian soul teachings. The four stories are united in Mary, in whom the number four achieves a mysterious power, and it also is a counterpart to Robert Moore's analysis of the structure of the male identity in the fourfold pattern of King, Warrior, Magician and Lover Within. 144pp, paperback.
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