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The Book of Ruth is an all-time Bible favorite. In four chapters, it builds a clear plot with narrative tension heightened with sexual innuendos, and it ends well. Since the 1990s, studies have produced an array of portrayals of the heroes of the tale beyond the traditional idyllic readings. Gaps and fissures have been explored to cover its ideological premises. Feminist readings denounce the way patriarchalism used the figures of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz to bolster its social hegemony. Ruth has been presented as a coquette, Naomi as a pimp or a scold, Ruth and Naomi as lesbians, Boaz as exploiter of the proletariat, unstraight, sugar-daddy or impotent.
Yet, time is ripe to steer a course between idyllic readings and critical ones. There is more to gender asymmetries and patriarchy than the devaluation of women. Women always have power. Neither Naomi or Ruth are powerless victims.
This volume maps an uncompromising way forward between patriarchy and advocacy.
