ABSTRACT
Under Thy holy protection I wish to follow my path And sing the glory of a fair warrior, Star of her time, still shining With a flaming radiance on our obscure night. (11. 1-4)
During the Renaissance, however, the woman warrior became a highly conO troversial figure. In Coignard’s epic, Judith’s manly exploits are mentioned only in the passage cited above and 1. 1544. It seems that Coignard deliberO ately downplays the disturbing character of combative femininity. Thus, while some of Judith’s attributes are just mentioned in passing (e.g., her virile purposefulness and heroic courage), others are highlighted, in particular her unfailing faith in the face of adversity. In addition, Coignard never fails to reO mind her reader that Judith is the agent of God. Considerable stress is placed on the feminine qualities of the heroine. Praised for her exceptional beauty, Judith is also commended for her humility, virtue, and piety. Much like Coignard herself, she is represented as the faithful widow who found solace in her love for God:
She refused to give her heart again To a second husband, but chaste, young, and beautiful, She faithfully preserved her love for him after his death, Having him always in her heart as though he were still living, Observing in holiness all the laws of honor. Now this divine love lodged within her soul, Kindled her heart with its divine flame. . . . (11. 632-638)
Coignard’s emphasis on Judith’s chastity is particularly striking (11. 629-630). In her narrative she takes great pains to preserve the image of a chaste Judith and attenuate the erotic element in the story. For example, folO lowing the reference to Judith’s fatal power and her “deceptive beauty” (“Let him be caught in the net of my eyes,” 1. 795), particular emphasis is given to the heroine’s frailty and vulnerability. This is the occasion for Coignard to celebrate God the All-Powerful who chooses the weak of the world to conO found the strong:
Therefore grant me, Lord, the necessary strength, To condemn this powerful adversary, That it may be written in the course of years, And be retold from father to son, To celebrate Thy name worthy of all glory, That the hand of a woman scored such a victory. . . . (11. 797-802)
Coignard’s treatment of Judith’s preparations is completely consistent with the Book of Judith 10:4. Her enhanced beauty is described as God’s will and her dressing up as motivated by “a pure and holy intention”:8
This dressing up in beautiful clothes Proceeded only from a pure and holy intention, For its sole foundation was virtue, With which her heart was blessedly clothed. (11. 865-868)
Coignard explicitly distances herself from the iconographic tradition in her depiction of Judith in a “gown that undulated in folds down to her feet” (11. 843-844). When Judith first meets with Holofernes, he is smitten by her beauty, but Coignard emphasizes her humility, woman’s most powerful weapon (11. 963-964). At the same time, Coignard softens the repeated bibliO cal intimations that Judith had knowingly placed herself in a situation in which her virtue was in danger. In the Bible (Judith 12:10-11) it is clear that Holofernes has sexual intentions, and Judith later tells Vagao that she will do whatever will please Holofernes. Coignard substitutes for this brief exchange a lengthy dialogue between Holofernes and Vagao (11. 1132-1147), which makes it clear that Judith’s chastity is in no real danger; Holofernes has no inO tention of demanding that which Judith owes him as his captive. Much like the traditional lovesick knight, he wishes to let her know how much he suffers while longing for her. Similarly, the biblical Judith repeatedly insists that her
virtue has not been tarnished, as if to allay any suspicion; these protestations are generally omitted from Coignard’s narrative. Thus one is surprised at JuO dith’s prayer in 1. 1284, “preserve my honor from perilous danger.” Coignard lapses, no doubt, in her attempt to follow the biblical text.
