In class on 11/2, we began our discussion of the inclusion of love throughout the Bible. Some of the poetic readings we went through in class left me mildly surprised. I can’t say I was fully expecting the inclusion of arousal through the words relating to the Bible, however, it just adds to my list of newly learned Biblical topics from this class.
To end the class we looked at the story of Salome. At the beginning of our textbook chapter on Salome, it mentions there was no hint through Biblical text of attraction between her and John the Baptist yet through other sources, a general conclusion had been made. Following this portion of the textbook, we looked at Richard Strauss’ opera regarding the love from Salome.
I understand my next claim might be fairly generalizing, however, I want to recognize oftentimes society plants the idea that women tend to display stronger feelings of emotion than men. Meaning, oftentimes, women show their love for their significant other in a more explicit or stronger manner than men often will. With this in mind and the previous discussion about Strauss’ opera, I would love to see if a woman had also composed an opera about the story of Salome, and how that might compare to Strauss’. Would there be stronger emotion through the music? Would the message be performed in a similar manner, or would it be quite different?