"Oh, virgin! / Oh, widow and mother! / Oh, everything! / Fuck this! Hard going, this!"
-The Servant, p. 61
I feel like The Servant captured my feelings while reading this play quite well. At times I was confused, others I (thought) I understood what was going on, sometimes laughing, and sometimes feeling like I shouldn't be laughing when I was.
With that said, I think (using Barker's emphasis tool) the major dramatic question of Judith is "Will Judith, and by extension, the country of Israel, regain her power?"
What led me towards this question was the hint given in the prompt and Judith's interactions with the servant. I found it ironic that the servant, not even given an actual name, held so much power in the play. Judith and Holofernes were engaging in a battle of wits, but the servant was keeping score in the background. Towards the beginning of the play, the servant had the most power, prompting Judith to say certain things to Holofernes, getting both characters to undress and become vulnerable, even giving Judith the sword to chop Holofernes' head off. For the first two thirds of the play, the servant is really in control.
However, once Holofernes is killed off, Judith begins her ascension to the top. Her country has already won due to Holofernes' death, but now Judith must regain power over her servant. There is a slight struggle, and Judith even needs her servant's help to become "unfrozen", but as soon as she is able to move again, she steps on her servant and takes control of the situation. Judith has her servant hack her hair off (the biblical story of Samson is ringing a bell here) and instructs her servant how to carry the head and how to walk with Judith.
Does Judith regain her power? Absolutely. "My body was but is no longer / Israel / Is / My / Body!" Judith exclaims. To break the two thoughts apart: 1) My body was but is no longer Israel, and 2) Israel is my body! In her eyes, Judith has become the physical manifestation of her country. She has become so enveloped in power that she believes she is the flesh representation of Israel. After her final words, the servant shows her respect to Judith and leaves the tent. The final image we see is Judith alone in the tent, before leaving. Judith is queen of the mountain, and revels for a moment in her journey to the top.
No comments:
Post a Comment