Becoming a man

: un/manly self-presentation in the Pauline epistles

Abstract

Paul claims to have ‘become a man’ in 1 Cor 13:11, but what sort of masculinity does the apostle actually embody in his letters? Previous studies have variously plotted the apostle along a spectrum of conformity (or non-conformity) to ancient masculine ideals, generating conflicting Pauline portraits. In addition, if one grants that Paul does fall short of gendered norms, should this be read as critical of the broader dominant culture or simply as establishing an alternative gender hierarchy? By exploring seemingly ‘unmanly’ aspects of Paul’s self-presentation, I demonstrate that the gender dynamics of the texts under examination are often more ambiguous than previous scholarship has allowed for. In particular, they are liable to being read in multiple ways, dependent on the perspective of the person doing the ‘reading’. In this thesis, I modify the theory of hegemonic masculinity—popular among similar studies—to make it better suited to the reading of biblical texts. Bringing this methodology into conversation with Graeco-Roman masculine ideals, I then turn to four different Pauline modes of ‘becoming’. First, I consider Paul’s expression of bodily weakness (2 Cor 10:10, 12:7b–10; Gal 4:13–15), analysed in conjunction with disability studies, showing that although weakness could make Paul’s masculinity vulnerable and liable to ridicule, his rhetoric of weakness indicates a reworking of contemporary notions of strength, and thus masculinity. Next, I examine the various bodily markings (Phil 3:5; Gal 6:17) Paul reveals, demonstrating that he engages with competing discourses of masculinity in relation to circumcision, while also highlighting how his stigmata have become entangled in complicated gender dynamics through their reception history. In the next chapter, Paul’s use of enslavement metaphors (Gal 1:10, Phil 1:1, Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 9:19, 2 Cor 4:5; 1 Cor 9:27) are read alongside the servitium amoris motif in Latin love elegy, indicating a variety of ways in which masculinity is structured in relation to Christ but also to others. Finally, Paul’s use of maternal metaphors (1 Thess 2:7b–8; 1 Cor 3:1–3; Gal 4:19) shows that Paul, again, oscillates between different states of masculinity, corresponding to the different stages of ‘maternity’ he embodies in writing to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Galatians. Overall, I argue that it is reductive to read Paul as either ‘manly’ or ‘unmanly’ in relation to Graeco-Roman masculine ideals; rather, it is possible to detect localised patterns of masculinity in Paul’s letters as he exhibits a fluctuating engagement with, resistance to, and reworking of gendered norms. ‘Becoming a man’, for Paul, thus happens in simultaneous, conflicting ways, prompting consideration of whether this becoming is always convincing to others, from the first hearers of his letters to modern-day interpreters. This continual process of reinterpreting Paul shows that in some ways he is also a man forever in the process of becoming.

Date of Award	1 Jul 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	Edward Adams (Supervisor) & Joan Taylor (Supervisor)