In Judges 4 and 5, Jael viciously murders the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg to the head. This article approaches the text through horror, with particular reference to the slasher film and the rape-revenge film. Drawing on Carol Clover's...
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In Judges 4 and 5, Jael viciously murders the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg to the head. This article approaches the text through horror, with particular reference to the slasher film and the rape-revenge film. Drawing on Carol Clover's landmark Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Horror Film, I argue that Jael should be read as a "Final Girl" who triumphs over the villainous Sisera. The article further suggests that because of the strong suggestion of sexual violence and Sisera as rapist, Judges 4 and 5 also invokes the genre of the rape-revenge film. Jael thus becomes the avenging female survivor. These parallels to horror illuminate the complex intersections of gender, ethnicity, and audience identification.
