Why read Veiled Intent?

Book cover of Veiled Intent: Dissenting Women's Aesthetic Approach to Biblical Interpretation

Book description

How were eighteenth-century dissenting women writers able to ensure their unique biblical interpretation was preserved for posterity? And how did their careful yet shrewd tactics spur early nineteenth-century women writers into vigorous theological debate? Why did the biblical engagement of such women prompt their commitment to causes such as the…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Veiled Intent as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Joy Schroeder

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Barred from university education and ministerial roles, most women in the 1700s did not have opportunities to write commentaries or sermons. Instead, some female authors turned to poetry and devotional writing as a vehicle for biblical interpretation. According to literary scholar Natasha Duquette, female poets such as Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved African American servant, “veiled” their dissenting viewpoints in religious verse. By “clothing” their calls for social justice in genres considered acceptable for female authors, these poets and devotional writers ensured a wider readership for their provocative perspectives on the Bible and society.

From Joy's list on The best books about women who interpreted the Bible before the twentieth century.