About this Book

 The “Great Whore” of the Book of Revelation—the hostile
symbolization used to illustrate the author’s critique of empire—has attracted
considerable attention in Revelation scholarship. Feminist scholar Tina Pippin
criticizes the use of gendered metaphors—“Babylon” as a tortured woman—which
she asserts reflect an inescapably androcentric, even misogynistic,
perspective. Alternatively, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza understands John’s
rhetoric and imagery not simply in gendered terms, but in political terms as
well, observing that “Babylon” relies on conventionally coded feminine language
for a city.  

Shanell T. Smith seeks to dismantle the either/or dichotomy
within the “Great Whore” debate by bringing the categories of race/ethnicity
and class to bear on John’s metaphors. Her socio-cultural context impels her to
be sensitive to such categories, and, therefore, leads her to hold the two
elements, “woman” and “city,” in tension, rather than privileging one over the
other. Using postcolonial womanist interpretation of the woman Babylon, Smith
highlights the simultaneous duality of her characterization—her depiction as
both a female brothel slave and as an empress or imperial
city. Most remarkably, however, Smith’s reading also sheds light on her own
ambivalent characterization as both a victim and participant in empire.