Taking the prologue of John's Gospel as a case-study in feminist biblical criticism, the author engages with a persistent view that the biblical text is seriously compromised by its association with patriarchal values. Close analysis of five interpretations by Augustine, Hildegard von Bingen, Martin Luther, Adrienne von Speyr and Rudolf Bultmann shows how, unavoidably, interpretation clothes the biblical text with the varied and dazzling patterns of the patriarchal reading context. But in a second turn, drawing on the techniques of both structuralist criticism and deconstruction, and offering three further inventive readings of this powerful passage, Jasper reflects woman and the feminine in the shining garment of her own contextualized reading.

Alison Jasper is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Stirling, Scotland.