Transformation of the biblical myth in the play Judith by Elena Isaeva

The paper examines the features of the image of Judith in the play of the same name by the modern playwright Elena Isaeva, in which the author relies on the story described in the Book of Judith, which was a part of the Old Testament. Comparison with the original biblical myth allows us to conclude that it has been significantly transformed in the play. Isaeva does not limit herself to describing the clash of Assyrians and Jews, she muffles the bloody conflict. And the picture of the leader of the Assyrians, Holofernes, being murdered, is replaced by romantic episodes, secret meetings of lovers. The article compares two versions of the play (1992, 2004), which allows us to talk about the development of the author’s idea. An important role in the first version, which is designated in the article as “brief”, is played by the presence of two women in the play: Judith and her maid Elima. In this version, Elima’s frivolity is contrasted with the depth of Judith’s emotional turmoil. Elima is ready to enter into a love affair with almost every man she meets. For Judith, after many years of widowhood, the love that arose for Holofernes becomes a tragedy, as it is considered as an obstacle to achieving the goal of killing the enemy of her country. In the full version, Elima is “replaced” by her great-granddaughter, which allows Isaeva to build a fl ashback of events, as the heroine tells the girl what had happened in her life before the girl was born. To confirm the importance in the change of emphasis in the original biblical text, N. Nedobrovo’s play Judith is also drawn upon, which allows us to emphasize the difference in the interpretations of the biblical plot by the male and female authors. The result of the comparison is the statement about the development of a complex of “femininity” in Isaeva’s play. The analysis also makes it possible to comprehend the problem of interpreting biblical myths in culture.

Elena Isaeva, Nikolai Nedobrovo, Judith, biblical myths, femininity, female dramaturgy, drama in verse, neo-myth