The Mary Russell Companion (34 page)

* An Inspector in the U.K. is equal to S.D.O. in India.

Mary Russell on God

From the first time we—and Sherlock Holmes—meet Mary Russell, she is already on the road to theological studies.  Her Jewish mother got her started, and Russell’s theological and criminal enquiries often weave together.

As do, interestingly enough, Russell’s interests and those of her agent, Laurie King.  Laurie wrote a Master’s thesis on the feminine imagery of God.  Or, is this a section of one of Russell’s papers?

Feminine Aspects of Yahweh

The people Israel called their God “Father”, thought of him as a King, a warrior, a male.  However, the vocabulary of masculine terms was at times inadequate, and at those times the person speaking to or of God would slip into maternal imagery.

It is difficult for most modern minds to understand the fluidity of boundaries that seems to have existed in previous millennia (and indeed exists still in some groups and individuals).  It takes us by surprise to hear of Israel sucking the “breast of kings” (Isa. 60:16), to have a goddess such as Ishtar who is both male and female, and to think of the very masculine father god Yahweh in childbirth.  It offends our need for tight compartmentalization, and leads to the re-writing of passages such as Deut. 32:18, where the RSV translations (“You forgot the God who gave you birth”) glosses over the Hebrew, which clearly means to write in the effort of birthing.  (More on this verse later.)  In this chapter we will look first at gynomorphic imagery as applied to Yahweh: “his” possession of a womb and ability to bear and give birth; Yahweh’s formative influence on the child in the womb; Yahweh’s maternal love; Yahweh nourishing the child at the breast; and the juxtaposition of male and female imagery this draws out of the bible.  We will then turn to the concept of Yahweh’s
rahamim
, that compassionate womb-love which has its basis in the womb.  This womb-love of Yahweh will first be shown in parallel with other expressions of divine love, particularly
hesed
; then it will appear in opposition to the judgmental wrath of God.

Gynomorphic imagery

Yahweh is never explicitly called “Mother” in the Bible.  Yet, on close examination, one finds the full gamut of motherhood covered in Yahweh’s attributes.  The following section discusses those passages most relevant to the picture of God the Mother.

The womb of God

Deuteronomy 32:18, mentioned above, is translated by RSV: You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

The translators make a note that the word “begot” can also be “bore.”  Indeed, BDB gives the meanings for
yalad
as “bear, bring forth, beget”, in that order.  The word rock,
sur
, is masculine, hence the verb is masculine, so the translators chose “begot” rather than “bore”.  However, if the primary meaning of “to bear” is applied, it introduces two parallel female images rather than a male/female juxtaposition.  Phyllis Trible, in her structural analysis of Dt 32, sees verse 6 as the conclusion of the introductory section:

              Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

She then posits v. 16 as the conclusion of the first major section.  Whereas both speak of creation and God as the giver of life, the first is God the father, the second, God as mother:

              The Rock who gave you birth you forgot, and you lost remembrance of the               God who writhed in labor pains with you.

The TDNT article on
odin
would agree with her translation of what the RSV gives as “the God who gave you birth”.  The Hebrew very
hul
(
hil
) is basically a shaking dance movement, from which comes the general application to any shaking or twisting.  In childbirth it is the “quivering and trembling of the mother at the physical exertion, in the contraction, pressure, and stress at the beginning of labor.”  BDB also defines the word as whirling, twisting, or writing, be it in dance, pain, or childbirth.  Thus the image of God “giving birth” to the child Israel is not simply a distant statement of theology, but one which presents in the most direct language possible the idea of God’s maternal involvement in the birth process.

*  *

(
RSV
= Revised Standard Version of the Bible;
BDB
= Brown-Driver-Briggs,
Hebrew and English Lexicon
;
TDNT
=
Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament
)

The rest of Laurie King’s MA Thesis is available online,
here
.

Six:

The Russell Community

“Formidable,” my companion murmured.  (
Beekeeper’s Apprentice
)

*

It was the usual religious nonsense that had flowered since the War’s end, equal parts delusion, untidy thinking, and egomania.  (
Language of Bees
)

*

“Your wife is such a darling, and such a sense of humour!”

“Oh yes,” Holmes agreed gravely. “Quite the joker is my wife.”   (
The Game
)

The Friends of Russell community is varied and ever-growing.  New books are celebrated with a flurry of contests, art projects, book club discussions, blog posts, and overall enthusiasm. 

From Russell’s desk (Alice Wright)

Laurie R. King

Laurie King is, understandably, foremost among Miss Russell’s fans.  Her website is a wealth of material on
All Things Russell
.  She has assembled a collection of
lengthy excerpts
and
Reader guides
.  The publication of each new Memoir is heralded by numerous posts on Laurie’s blog, “
Mutterings
”, with photographs of scenes from the upcoming book to illustrate brief excerpts.

Russell Blogs?

Yes, Miss Russell very occasionally posts a note on her personal blog,
Mary Russell Holmes: A Lifetime with Sherlock
. 
Nothing too personal, mind, and rare, but any glimpse at her life from the inside is to be treasured.

Twitter & Twitter parties

A Twitter invitation

Yes,
Russell Tweets
.  The lady has clearly taken regular doses of whatever substance it is in bees that alleviates the symptoms of rheumatism since, despite the English climate, Russell’s fingers remain nimble. 

Moreover, her participation on
Twitter
goes beyond her daily ruminations, snippets from her books, and interaction.  Every so often she invites her followers to a party, offering them tea, scones, appropriate snacks, and a near-lethal quantity of honey wine.  Merriment ensues, to put it mildly.  It often takes considerable time to get the final tipsy guests out the door, and to pull the parrots (
Pirate King
) and/or camels (
Garment of Shadows
) from the trees in the orchard. 

Letters of Mary

One online forum which Russell views with a certain degree of bemusement is “
Letters of Mary
”, where enthusiasts indulge their impatience with the slow appearance of the next volume of Memoir by suggesting episodes that took place but have gone (as yet) unacknowledged.  Call it Fan Fiction, call it homage, the participants are not only full of energy, they are marvelously talented.

Virtual Book Club

Virtual Book Club logo

Each month, Right-Minded Readers (that is, people who love the Memoirs) come together to discuss a new book, in the LRK VBC:
Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club
.  Mostly fiction, often historical, but really a mix of everything, the discussions are lively and wide-ranging.  And how many book clubs let its participants drop by day or night, in pajamas or what-have-you?

Meet-ups

Get-togethers and dinner parties (of the real, rather than virtual, variety) take place at many Crime and Mystery conferences, and when Laurie King travels on book tour.  Meet-ups are often organized through the
Virtual Book Club
.

Fun & Games with Russell & Holmes

Word puzzles, as one might imagine, are popular with Miss Russell’s friends.  Sometimes it is Marjorie Tucker’s
Bee-fore and After
: