Beyond Anger
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In her book Beyond Anger, Carolyn Osiek analyzes what it means to be a feminist and a member of the Catholic Church, with herself as an example and as the subject for her own analysis. She first notes the varied definitions possible of "feminism" while also indicating that everyone has some vague idea of what the term encompasses. She finds that society is still largely geared to an old idea that for women the "most effective way of expressing themselves in the world is through a man" (9), while feminism sees this notion as both antiquated and simply wrong. Osiek finds that the Church is still tied to this antiquated view and that women see this in the fact that only men stand at the altar, only men wear clothing showing that they belong there, only men are priests. The image enemies of feminism give the movement is one of anger, which Osiek says is a useful emotion, but as the title of her book indicates, also an emotion one must get beyond in order to be effective. In considering the issues involved and the feminist response to the Church, Osiek analyzes Church symbolism and iconography for what it says to and about women and for how women can cope with the Church's views and in time bring about change. She considers the different ways she perceives women as coping and criticizes those aspects of each approach which shape the argument in an unfortunate way, prevent women from achieving more than the status quo, or otherwise fail to satisfy the need felt by women in t
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though she also says there is a price to be paid for the change that she seeks, it is a price that needs to be paid.
In the end, she links the idea of transformation to the most potent symbol in the Church, the symbol of the cross:
All women, every woman, in the Church must take up the responsibility tom help transform the community of Christ according to the shape of the redemptive and triumphant cross (83).
Osiek makes a strong argument and does so in the language of the Church rather than feminist rhetoric, making her argument more accessible to all women and to the men who constitute the Church hierarchy as well.
Work Cited
Osiek, Carolyn. Beyond Anger: On Being a Feminist in the Church. New York: Paulist Press, 1986.
Elizabeth A. Clark writes about the role of women in the early Church and utilizes writings from the scriptures and from other religious and religiously-oriented works to demonstrate what she calls the ambivalent attitude the Church Fathers have long had toward women. The writings support what she says and show the historical relationship of women to the early Church and to theology as it developed from the early writings of Church founders and followers.
Clark describes the way the founders of
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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