Paper: Sarah’s Sacrifice: Gender, Patriarchy and Oppression in the Akedah and The Handmaid’s Tale

Abstract: Feminist biblical scholarship emphasises the role of the Akedah (Gen 22) as the paradigmatic patriarchal sacrifice and a final settlement with the primary, womanly sacrifice of childbirth. Yvonne Sherwood, for example, interprets the Akedah in the light of the story that follows in Gen 23 (the death of Sarah) and underlines the motif of the sacrifice of Sarah. Julia Kristeva’s theory of sacrifice suggests that women who are exposed to oppression tend to respond in two ways: either they self-sacrifice or they overreact and become perpetrators. This theory is illustrated by the unnamed handmaid (Offred) and Aunt Lydia in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments.

In my paper, I will re-evaluate the victimhood of Sarah in the light of the story of Hagar (Gen 16 and 21). Based on Kristeva’s theory of sacrifice and using illustrations from Atwood’s novels, I will argue that although subjected to the pressure of patriarchy, Sarah should not be portrayed as an unconditional victim but as an ambivalent character who collaborates with patriarchy and embraces the roles of both perpetrator (in her oppressive attitude towards Hagar) and victim (in her absence from the Akedah). I will challenge the false dichotomy between the oppressive and patriarchal Abraham, who mostly does what he is told to do either by God (Gen 12:7; 22:2) or by Sarah (Gen 16:2; 21:10), and the feminine victim Sarah. I will maintain that this dichotomy fails to address the aggressive will to power embraced by women in power, which is ultimately not so different from patriarchy.