Brooke Degner

Diaz - Williamson

World History : 4

10 April 2019

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

The text “Deuteronomy 22:13-30” demonstrates Gerna Lerner’s definition of patriarchy

through examples of male dominance over women concerning virginity, viewing women as

property, and other stereotypes associated with women. First of all, in this text the males only

valued women who were virgins because it proved the legitimacy of the man’s offspring. If the

woman was assumed to have not been a virgin, then the men would tell the council of the elders

in an effort to either get evidence of the woman’s virginity or have the woman punished. If the

woman lied about her virginity, “the men of her town shall stone her to death.” This supports

Gerna Lerner’s definition because in the society that this text represents, the men are able to

stone the woman to death for simply not being able to confirm the legitimacy of their offspring.

Second of all, the father represents the woman in front of the elders which demonstrates the

manifestation of male dominance over women both in the family and in society. The father is

representing his female family members in front of many of the important members of the

society. The father is the person who “submit[s] the evidence of the young woman’s virginity” to

the elders of the city. The woman is not allowed to defend herself, but more importantly, the fact

that she has to prove her virginity to the males is what demonstrates Gerna Lerner’s definition of

patriarchy. Third of all, if a man lies with an engaged woman in the city, she will be stoned to
death because it is assumed that “she did not cry for help.” This both characterizes woman as

weak, and punishes a woman for an activity concerning her body. Lastly, in this text the women

are treated as if they are property. After being “sieze[d],” in most situations the women are

forced to stay the wife of the man for the rest of their life unless they would rather be dead or a

prostitute. There are very few options for women in this society. They can either be treated as

property, or be no one at all. For example, if a man lies with a woman who is a virgin and is not

engaged, “she shall become his wife.” The woman does not have a choice in this matter

whatsoever. All in all, this text represents Gerna Lerner’s definition of patriarchy through

examples of male dominance over women in the family and in society in general.