Femininity & Film

At our last event, Femininity & Film, we explored true femininity embodied by some of our favorite leading ladies in movies such as Pocahontas, Maria von Trapp, Belle, Katniss, Tiana, Eowyn, and Elizabeth Bennet. 
We put to rest the stereotype and lie that womanhood and femininity is a sign of weakness. Many of the characters we explored were all women who were willing to risk their lives and give up their freedom to save someone they loved. 
We also discussed the feminine genius: the woman's receptivity, sensitivity, generosity, and maternity. In their own way, each of the women from film embodied these qualities in the way they lived their vocation of radical love.
True femininity, as expressed by these women in the movies, is a real and radical way to love.  And the the good news is that it is livable for all of us with God's grace!

Check out these quotes that team chose to describe their favorite leading ladies in film:

• Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music: "Perhaps more than men, women acknowledge the person, because they see persons with their hearts.  They see them independently of various ideological or political systems. They see others in their greatness and limitations; they try to go out to them and help them.  In this way the basic plan of the Creator takes flesh in the history of humanity and there is constantly revealed, in the variety of vocations, that beauty –not merely physical, but above all spiritual – which God bestowed from the very beginning on all, and in a particular way on women." - JPII Letter to Women, 12
• Belle from Beauty & the Beast: "In [the] moment of danger, those who love much succeed in overcoming their fear." -John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem
• Eowyn from Lord of the Rings: "To be a mother, to feel maternally, means to turn especially to the helpless, to incline lovingly and helpfully toward everything on earth that is small and weak." - Gertrude von le Fort in The Eternal Woman
• Tiana from The Princess & the Frog: "Woman is created in the image of God. Like man, she is created for the purpose of knowing, ultimately knowing God. True feminism, therefore, respects woman's essential identity as an image of God. Where she differs from man, a true feminism understands that these differences are constructive and complementary." -Dr. Pia de Solenni, "Christian Feminism: A Fuller View of Woman"
• Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice: "The soul of a woman must therefore be expansive and open to all human beings; it must be quiet so that no small weak flame will be extinguished by stormy winds; warm so as not to benumb fragile buds; clear so that no vermin will settle in dark corners and recesses; self-contained, so that no invasions from without can imperil the inner life; empty of self, in order that extraneous life may have room in it; finally, mistress of itself and also of its body, so that the entire person is readily at the disposal of every call." - St. Edith Stein, Essays on Woman pg 133

Proverbs Says

Poem On The Woman Of Worth

Who can find a woman of worth?

Far beyond jewels is her value.

Her husband trusts her judgment;

he does not lack income.

She brings him profit, not loss,

all the days of her life.

She seeks out wool and flax

and weaves with skillful hands.

Like a merchant fleet,

she secures her provisions from afar.

She rises while it is still night,

and distributes food to her household,

a portion to her maidservants.

She picks out a field and acquires it;

from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength;

she exerts her arms with vigor.

She enjoys the profit from her dealings;

her lamp is never extinguished at night.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her fingers ply the spindle.

She reaches out her hands to the poor,

and extends her arms to the needy.

She is not concerned for her household when it snows—

all her charges are doubly clothed.

She makes her own coverlets;

fine linen and purple are her clothing.

Her husband is prominent at the city gates

as he sits with the elders of the land.

She makes garments and sells them,

and stocks the merchants with belts.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

and laughs at the days to come.

She opens her mouth in wisdom;

kindly instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household,

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband, too, praises her:

“Many are the women of proven worth,

but you have excelled them all.”

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;

the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Acclaim her for the work of her hands,

and let her deeds praise her at the city gates.

Proverbs 31:10-31

My little sister in household shared something simple, yet mind-blowing with me today.  We were talking about this passage, the Poem on the Woman of Worth.  She explained to me, as she had learned earlier in class, that the author of Proverbs personifies wisdom as a woman – “lady wisdom”.  The word Sophia actually means “wisdom”, and it suits then that Sophia is a girl’s name. 

The first nine chapters of Proverbs are about lady wisdom.  As the introduction to the Book of Proverbs says in the Bible, “The chapters personify wisdom as a woman and draw an extended analogy between finding a wife, or founding and maintaining a household, and finding wisdom.”

My little sister then continued, saying that the author concluded with the Poem on the Woman of Worth for a reason.  The author was looking for the perfect example of wisdom; he searched the towns for the wisdom of the scribes and the elders.  Yet, in the end, he recognized wisdom in the woman, the wife. 

My sisters in Christ, let us rid ourselves of self-criticism, insecurity, and self-pity.  And let us move into strength, dignity, fear of the Lord, and laughter. This poem on the Woman of Worth is Christ’s praise to us.  This doesn’t come without exercising virtue but with Mary as our perfect model and teacher, quickly we will learn.  Our value is far beyond jewels…

May Mary’s Heart guide you,

Sierra

"Give me a drink"

A little while ago I was praying with the scripture passage about the woman at the well. It has always been one of my favorites, but I never really thought about why. So when we learned about lectio divina in our Women’s Ministry meeting, I decided this was as good an opportunity as any to really dive into this passage and see what about it struck me so positively. 

I had read a commentary once on this passage that explains that the Samaritan woman was ostracized from the rest of the women in her town.  All the other women go to the well together in the mornings.  This is one of the great duties and honors in being a woman.  They create a community together of support and intimacy.  They converse over the latest gossip in the town.  However, the Samaritan woman is shamed because of her sins - 5 husbands? and currently living with a man who is not her husband? I can only imagine the things being whispered about her throughout the town.  I’m sure much of the shallow gossip being talked about among the other town wives was about the samaritan woman. 

How well she must have understood how it felt to be excluded.  Should she attempt to go to the well while the other women were there, what do you expect she’d find? I imagine there is great chatter that ceases when she approaches.  Those looks of being “caught-in-the-act” plastered over the women’s faces.  All eyes look at her and then quickly avert their gaze. The silence speaks volumes.  

Then as she draws water there are hushed whispers and dirty looks.  She leaves, realizing she isn’t welcome, and as she walks away, the chatter grows louder.  Most likely she hears a few thrown out insults that the speaker hasn’t cared to keep low enough to go unheard.  

It’s no wonder she goes to the well alone after all the other women have left.  But! If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have encountered Christ in such a beautiful and unique way!  This thought brings me so much hope!  It is exactly by and through our sufferings and our trials that we are brought to meet Christ face to face.  Without them, we might live our whole lives in ignorance to His presence.  He could wait at the well forever, and we wouldn’t notice He was there.   

One thing that really struck me was what Christ was asking the woman. He says to her, "Give me some water."  Rather than a demand, which I had always pictured it, I realized it is actually an invitation - an invitation to perform those very acts of womanhood that she has been denied.  Providing life-sustaining nourishment (water) is a great honor to women, especially at this historical time.   

This nourishing spirit and maternal heart are constant in every woman - yes they are manifested in different ways, yet every woman has these dispositions within her.  By being denied the task of drawing water from the well with the other women and providing nourishment for her home, the samaritan woman’s very dignity and identity as a woman is denied as well.  

Christ’s invites her to re-establish her feminine role, and in doing so, he gives attention to the dignity and worth she has as a woman - He is implying that she is worthy of providing nourishment to Him.  This is why the woman becomes confused as to why He, a Jew, is asking her, a samaritan, for water.  If this was simply a task to satisfy His own needs, Christ’s request of her drawing water would be almost degrading - treating her like a servant sent to do His bidding, but that’s not what He is saying at all.  He is honoring her by asking her the favor of living out her femininity and giving nourishment to His life.

Check this video out:


Despite her sins and shortcomings, Christ shows her that she still possesses this innate value of being woman, because that is how He created her.  She does not make her own worth, He has given it to her as a gift, just as He does with each of us.  What a comfort this Truth is. 


Carrie