Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna

This article analyses the story of Susanna and the Elders from the Book of Daniel, as a transformational and liminal process. My focus is the role of nakedness in Susanna’s transition through distinct social and moral stages, within both the biblical narrative as well as in visual art through histor...

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Main Author: Angelos Kyrimis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Novus forlag 2025-03-01
Series:DIN
Online Access:https://ojs.novus.no/index.php/DIN/article/view/2422
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author Angelos Kyrimis
author_facet Angelos Kyrimis
author_sort Angelos Kyrimis
collection DOAJ
description This article analyses the story of Susanna and the Elders from the Book of Daniel, as a transformational and liminal process. My focus is the role of nakedness in Susanna’s transition through distinct social and moral stages, within both the biblical narrative as well as in visual art through history. Using Victor Turner’s concept of liminality, I analyze nakedness as a liminal threshold and discuss how her initial state of innocence is transformed into one of shame and ultimately to glorified exoneration. The main question is what Susanna’s nakedness means in art and text, I explore how nakedness functions on different narrative levels, contributing to her journey from innocence to shame and eventually, vindication. By applying Turner’s theory to the narrative structure and its shifts, and by approaching Susanna’s nakedness as liminal, more complex layers of meanings and symbols emerge.
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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series DIN
spelling doaj-art-e85cf12da1da486284f1655febc954042025-08-20T02:08:44ZengNovus forlagDIN1501-99342387-67352025-03-01227328310.52145/din.2024.2.24222612Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of SusannaAngelos Kyrimis0Universitetet i OsloThis article analyses the story of Susanna and the Elders from the Book of Daniel, as a transformational and liminal process. My focus is the role of nakedness in Susanna’s transition through distinct social and moral stages, within both the biblical narrative as well as in visual art through history. Using Victor Turner’s concept of liminality, I analyze nakedness as a liminal threshold and discuss how her initial state of innocence is transformed into one of shame and ultimately to glorified exoneration. The main question is what Susanna’s nakedness means in art and text, I explore how nakedness functions on different narrative levels, contributing to her journey from innocence to shame and eventually, vindication. By applying Turner’s theory to the narrative structure and its shifts, and by approaching Susanna’s nakedness as liminal, more complex layers of meanings and symbols emerge.https://ojs.novus.no/index.php/DIN/article/view/2422
spellingShingle Angelos Kyrimis
Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
DIN
title Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
title_full Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
title_fullStr Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
title_full_unstemmed Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
title_short Liminal Nakedness and Transformation in the story of Susanna
title_sort liminal nakedness and transformation in the story of susanna
url https://ojs.novus.no/index.php/DIN/article/view/2422
work_keys_str_mv AT angeloskyrimis liminalnakednessandtransformationinthestoryofsusanna