Members of His Body : Shakespeare, Paul, and a Theology of Nonmonogamy / Will Stockton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stockton, Will, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Religion.

Shakespeare, William.

Paul, the Apostle, Saint--In literature.

Paul.

Bible--In literature.

Bible.

Marriage in literature.

Non-monogamous relationships in literature.

Theology in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (189 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Fordham University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Building on scholarship regarding both biblical and early modern sexualities, Members of His Body protests the Christian defense of marital monogamy. According to the Paul who authors 1 Corinthians, believers would do well to remain single and focus instead on the messiah’s return. According to the Paul who authors Ephesians, plural marriage is the telos of Christian community. Turning to Shakespeare, Will Stockton shows how marriage functions in The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, and The Winter’s Tale as a contested vehicle of Christian embodiment. Juxtaposing the marital theologies of the different Pauls and their later interpreters, Stockton reveals how these plays explore the racial, religious, and gender criteria for marital membership in the body of Christ. These plays further suggest that marital jealousy and paranoia about adultery result in part from a Christian theology of shared embodiment: the communion of believers in Christ.In the wake of recent arguments that expanding marriage rights to gay people will open the door to the cultural acceptance and legalization of plural marriage, Members of His Body reminds us that much Christian theology already looks forward to this end.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Notes

Introduction: Marriage and the Body of Christ

1. Paul in Ephesus: Self and Sexual Difference in The Comedy of Errors

2. Portia’s Pauline Perversion: The Merchant of Venice and Romans 1

3. Chaste Impossibilities: Adultery and Individuation in Othello

4. The Ecology of Adultery: Flesh, Blood, and Stone in The Winter’s Tale

Epilogue: Why (Again) Are the Utopians Monogamous?

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

This edition previously issued in print: 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

0-8232-7720-8

0-8232-7553-1

OCLC:

976394066