Women without Guilt, Men without Shame: Defining Cultural Marital Distrust in the Jewish Tale ‘The Rabbi Whose Wife Turned Him into a Werewolf’

This article explores cultural aspects regarding marital dynamics within the context of a Jewish tale published in Basel in 1602. In dissecting the intricate themes of guilt, shame, and cultural gender distrust portrayed within the narrative, the article offers a nuanced perspective on these socio-cultural constructs. The story focuses on the heroic exploits of a respected rabbi whose malevolent wife turns him into a werewolf. However, the representation of the relationship between men and women in the story is largely one-sided. Consequently, this study argues that this metamorphic story can be perceived as an intentional form of literary expression that depicts typical patterns of a male-centric society and highlights the direct relationship between women’s voices being suppressed and patriarchal control systems that silence them. This article presents a fresh and original examination of the complexities inherent in cultural perceptions of marital dynamics.