War and Peace, by David Grossman

Abstract

In the Hebrew Bible, the phenomenon of war is portrayed as having a direct connection to God. The divine protection of the people of Israel is at the root of biblical theology. In David Grossman’s A Woman Flees (Isha borachat min ha-bessora), as in Homeric poetry, the realities of war and warriors are contrasted with the realities of common people, and the narrative creates a vast abyss, separating these two spheres. But, as opposed to what happens in the Bible as well as in the Iliad, the war depicted in this novel is not subject to any kind of divine interference or belief, be it pagan or retributive as in biblical theology.