ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the long series of literary works based on the story of Judith from the tenth to the twentieth century; people were struck by her fate as a mythical figure and the diversity of meanings that have been ascribed to her. If weakness turns into strength, it is because Judith places her trust in God: this is the major theme of the story, reaffirmed by all the protagonists, even those who are not Jewish. And at the time of deepest desolation it is Judith who shows her fellow citizens how she will save them, with the help of God; the Jewish people has committed no sin, therefore there is no reason why God should not come to their aid. The treatment accorded to the story of Judith by Georg Kaiser at the beginning of the twentieth century, turning it into a comedy, is in line with contemporary concerns.
