Handmaiden
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Maidservant
) | The examples and perspective in this article may not include all significant viewpoints. (July 2021) |
Murillo, 1655–1660, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
A handmaiden (nowadays less commonly handmaid or maidservant) is a personal maid or female servant.[1] (The term is also used metaphorically for something whose primary role is to serve or assist.)[1] Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. The terms handmaiden and handmaid are synonyms.[1]
Depictions in Abrahamic texts
In the
concubine or inferior wife.[6] The text repeats that these people remain handmaids of their mistress though they are also the concubine of the mistress's husband. They are referred to interchangeably by the Hebrew terms אָמָה (’āmāh) and שִׁפְחָה (šip̄ḥāh). Other modern English bible translations use the word slave, slave-girl or servant.[7]
Mary
In
Mary, the mother of Jesus is referred to as the "handmaid of the Lord" or "servant of the Lord",[8] both of which are titles of honour for the mother of Jesus.[9] The Gospel of Luke describes Mary as the "handmaid of the Lord" (Greek δούλη, doulē) when she gives her consent to the message of the Angel (see Luke 1:38), and when she proclaims the greatness of the Lord because of "the great things" he has worked in her (see Luke 1:49)."[9]
In popular culture
- dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
- The Handmaiden, a 2016 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook.
- In the book series George R.R. Martin, which falls into the genres of both epic fantasy and dark fantasy, the female servants of a queen or a lady are referred to as "handmaidens" and the term is used to refer to many characters, most notably Queen Margaery Tyrell's cousins, Elinor Tyrell and Megga Tyrell, who serve as Margaery's handmaidens upon her arrival in King's Landing.
- In the sci-fi Star Wars franchise, the term refers to the female assistants of a reigning queen, most notably the Royal Naboo Handmaidens on the planet Naboo.
- In Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, the penultimate episode is "Once a Handmaiden..."
See also
- Domestic worker
- Henchman
- Lady's maid
- Lady-in-waiting
- Nurse stereotypes
References
- ^ a b c "Handmaiden - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
- ^ "Genesis 16 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". www.mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "Genesis 30 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". www.mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "Genesis 30 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". www.mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
- ^ "This Biblical Story Is At The Heart Of The Handmaid's Tale". Retrieved 2018-08-30.
- ^ Women, similar to wives from vadimcherny.org
- ^ "Genesis 16:1 KJV;ESV;NIV;NRSV - Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no - Bible Gateway". www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
- ISBN 9781460284872.
- ^ ISBN 9780814634868.