Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures
In this article, I begin to unpick the complex relationships between birth and sacrifice, taking my cue from the strange surrogacy structures in the textual triptych Genesis 21-23 (the expulsion [“sacrifice”] of Ishmael and Hagar, the surrogate mother; Abraham’s “sacrifice” of Isaac; and the death o...
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De Gruyter
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Open Theology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0022 |
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| author | Sherwood Yvonne |
| author_facet | Sherwood Yvonne |
| author_sort | Sherwood Yvonne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, I begin to unpick the complex relationships between birth and sacrifice, taking my cue from the strange surrogacy structures in the textual triptych Genesis 21-23 (the expulsion [“sacrifice”] of Ishmael and Hagar, the surrogate mother; Abraham’s “sacrifice” of Isaac; and the death of Sarah), and the expansion of this birth-sacrifice complex in unexpected sources, including Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling and midrashim and liturgical poems. These traditions amplify the strange homologies between birth, sacrifice, and surrogacy (endless substitutions) around the (in)famous biblical sacrifice, in which a son is substituted by a surrogate, the ram, and still “sacrificed.” The many inflections of the birth-sacrifice relationship range from replacement (birth elided in a ritual of “birth done better”), to the triumph of natality over mortality and the anxious mimetic performance of the extreme adventure and risk of labour. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-31d5988144224db2b717595223c77bd4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2300-6579 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Theology |
| spelling | doaj-art-31d5988144224db2b717595223c77bd42025-01-02T06:03:45ZengDe GruyterOpen Theology2300-65792024-12-01101274910.1515/opth-2024-0022Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy StructuresSherwood Yvonne0Visiting Research Professor, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo: Universitetet i Oslo, Oslo, NO-0316, NorwayIn this article, I begin to unpick the complex relationships between birth and sacrifice, taking my cue from the strange surrogacy structures in the textual triptych Genesis 21-23 (the expulsion [“sacrifice”] of Ishmael and Hagar, the surrogate mother; Abraham’s “sacrifice” of Isaac; and the death of Sarah), and the expansion of this birth-sacrifice complex in unexpected sources, including Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling and midrashim and liturgical poems. These traditions amplify the strange homologies between birth, sacrifice, and surrogacy (endless substitutions) around the (in)famous biblical sacrifice, in which a son is substituted by a surrogate, the ram, and still “sacrificed.” The many inflections of the birth-sacrifice relationship range from replacement (birth elided in a ritual of “birth done better”), to the triumph of natality over mortality and the anxious mimetic performance of the extreme adventure and risk of labour.https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0022genesis 21-23sacrificesarahhagarsurrogacymotherhoodpatriarchy |
| spellingShingle | Sherwood Yvonne Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures Open Theology genesis 21-23 sacrifice sarah hagar surrogacy motherhood patriarchy |
| title | Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures |
| title_full | Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures |
| title_fullStr | Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures |
| title_short | Sacrifice and Natality: Surrogacy Structures |
| title_sort | sacrifice and natality surrogacy structures |
| topic | genesis 21-23 sacrifice sarah hagar surrogacy motherhood patriarchy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0022 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sherwoodyvonne sacrificeandnatalitysurrogacystructures |