The Cursed Woman: Post-modern Analysis of Headstrong Historian(Part 1)
Nwamgba`s mother believed in her ancient religion about the earth god Ani who put a curse on those who will be selling girls into slavery. Associating the Lost pregnancies of Obierika`s father as a punishment from Ani. The idea that certain women were cursed or brought bad luck is a form of discrimination. As a result of superstitious beliefs, Nwamgba`s mother rejected her plan to marry Obierika and may deprive her of love and marriage. This superstition is comparable to Tamar’s “killer-wife” belief. After losing two husbands, she was viewed by the Pagans as a cursed wife. According to Goodfriend (2020), Friedman asserts that the “killer-wife” superstition is a “foreign element” or pagan belief system that was reintegrated into Jewish tradition during the Second Temple period. The Jewish rule “Talmud” forbids marrying qatlanit, or “killer wife,” a twice-widowed woman. Friedman contends that the Torah does not support this notion, in contrast to paganism, because it attributes Er and Onan’s deaths to God rather than their wife Tamar.
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References
Goodfriend, E. A. (2020, October 15). The “Killer wife” (Qatlanit) in Jewish law: A survey of sources. Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal. https://wjudaism.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/wjudaism/article/view/34942
Adichie, C. N. (2008, June 16). The headstrong historian. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/23/the-headstrong-historian
About- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (2022, October 18). https://www.chimamanda.com/about/
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