"The Creator's Maiden": Depictions of Free-Choice and Faith in Judith

In Judith, the main character’s name is used interchangeably with the epithet “the Creator’s maiden” (77). Throughout the narrative, Judith is defined, most significantly, by her faith. Still, though Judith is repeatedly characterized as just another instrument of an all-powerful God, she also makes distinct choices, separate from her faith, revealing a complexity that remains undiscussed within Judith. Despite the narrative focus on her faith, there is more to her, as a character. Although her decisions are often framed in terms of her relationship with God, Judith’s actions are her own, and this, along with the narrative contradictions in her role, creates a disjointed but calculated characterization of Judith, which attempts to paint her in a purely positive light and absolve her of any perceived wrongdoing. 

Judith is immediately introduced to the reader in terms of her faith. In the first few lines of the poem, it states, “she readily found / protection from the glorious Lord, when she had most need / of favour from the highest Judge” (2-4). These statements seem to be in direct contrast with her position; she is trapped, her people are despondent, and a man is about to attempt to rape her. It does not appear that God is looking out for Judith, despite the speaker's insistence that He is. The poem functions, narratively, by seeking to prove this claim about Judith’s relationship with the Lord.

Judith is further characterized in terms of faith by the epithet, “the Creator’s maiden” (77). It is significant to note that despite being a widow, Judith is continuously referred to as a “maiden, " which gives the impression that her maidenhood is still intact. The narrator puts a great deal of effort into emphasizing Judith’s position as a devout, pure, and virginal vessel, even when it does not necessarily align with what the reader knows about her. 

Though Judith is portrayed as nothing but a devout and pure vessel of God, this view is challenged by her decision to kill Holofernes. It is important to note that it was a decision to kill Holoferenes. The narrator sets this scene up to portray this murder as a holy act of divine protection, as demonstrated in the lines, “he intended to violate / the bright woman with defilement and sin. The Judge of glory / the majestic Guardian, the Lord, Ruler of hosts would not consent” (58-60). This shows how God supposedly intervenes on Judith’s behalf. However, just before she kills Holoferenes: 

…the Savior’s 

glorious handmaiden was very mindful 

  of how she could deprive the terrible one

of life most easily (73-76),

These lines make it clear that it was Judith’s idea – not some divine decree – to kill Holofernes. Judith chooses to kill Holofernes, and it is only after she makes this choice that she consults God. This choice is made even more clear by the fact that, by the time Judith began to pray, she had already unsheathed her sword (77-80). This creates a situation where it is clear that her decision is already made. She is, quite literally, already holding the sword. Then, when she cries out to God, she says “I want to beseech you / for your mercy in my time of need” (84-85). She does not ask for guidance or permission. She does not seek His opinion. She does not seek His strength. Judith asks God for what she feels she needs most – for him to show mercy upon her. This plea for absolution shows that her mind is set. If killing Holofernes is a sin, then, in Judith’s mind, that sin is already committed; she can do nothing but beg for God to grant her salvation (90). 

Though Judith’s mind is made up, she is still troubled by the morality of this decision. After all, it would make sense for Judith to have doubts, when within the Christian canon, one of the ten commandments given to Moses was  “thou shall not kill” (The KJV Bible. Exodus 20.13). Everything she knows points to the immorality of murder, and this makes her decision to kill Holofernes even more significant. Judith’s doubt about her decision is made clear, even outside of the context of Christianity, in the line “Grant me my salvation” (90). Begging for salvation emphasizes Judith’s doubts about the morality of her act. Those who feel as pure as the narrator presents Judith do not need to beg for mercy and salvation from their sins, but Judith clearly felt as though she needed to be absolved of something. In her prayer, she says, “I have never had more need / of your mercy than now” (91-92). This continues to show how dire this situation is for Judith. This is the moment that will damn her or save her. 

Though the Lord offers her comfort and “hope was renewed for the holy woman” (98), there is no explicit mention of Him lending her anything besides “hope” (98) and “zeal” (95). The choice to use the word hope is significant, or rather, the choice to use the word hope, as opposed to another word, like resolve, is significant, because it suggests that, as argued above, Judith did not reach out to God in need of reassurance or resolve in her actions but in fear for her soul. 

As a concept, hope defines the faith of Judith; while a lack of hope, defines Holoferne's faithlessness. It is hope, that the Lord gives Judith in her time of need, but when Holofernes is damned to hell, the place furthest from God, it is described as “that dark home deprived of the joy of hope” (121). This distinction between hope and hopelessness defines the boundary of faith and faithlessness, and this distinction is extended to the roles of good and evil, through Judith and Holofernes’s fates. 

After Judith beheads Holofernes, it is explained that “Judith had won illustrious glory / in the battle as God, Lord of heaven, / granted it so” (122-24). The description of the “illustrious glory,” granted to Judith by God, can be viewed in terms of her immediate and literal glory, but it can also be considered a confirmation of Judith’s eventual heavenly reward, especially in relation to the description of Holofernes’s damnation to hell, (118-24) which immediately precedes those lines. This contrast, between Judith’s salvation and Holofernes’s damnation, further cements the line between good and evil – purity and impurity – and emphasizes the inherent righteousness and virtue of Judith, “the Creator’s maiden”. 

In addition, by saying that Judith won because God “granted it so” (124), her choice to cut off the head of Holofernes is diminished. Her glory is due to God’s mercy and grace, not her endeavor. This diminishment paints Judith as a passive heroine, which does not align with her prior actions. After all, she literally cut off a man’s head and brought the bloody thing home with her (125-128), which one can assume took a bit of nerve.  

However, the fact that the encounter between Holofernes and Judith is described as a battle contradicts this image of Judith as a passive heroine. The narrative decision to use the word “battle”, which perhaps had more honorable connotations at this time, frames the scene as this glorious victory for God’s people, instead of the desperate and bloody assassination that it could also be depicted as. This singular line represents a clear disjunction in the poem's representation of Judith. Judith somehow manages to be described as a helpless maiden and a warrior of God all in the same line. This juxtaposition in Judith, present throughout the text, demonstrates a carefully designed characterization, which attempts to both absolve her of responsibility for her actions and paint her as a hero for those very same actions. 

Without this meticulous framing of Judith as the pure and virginal “Creator’s maiden” (77), who also “won illustrious glory in the battle as God[...] granted it” (122-24), she is simply a woman who did something desperate, brutal, and perhaps, necessary to save her people. This is why the narrator puts so much effort into characterizing Judith as both an innocent maiden and a justified religious warrior. By framing her character exclusively in terms of her faith, the narrative attempts to absolve Judith of Holoferne’s murder, which under other circumstances could be viewed very differently. However, Judith does exist outside of the confines of her faith-based identity, despite the narrator’s disjointed characterization of her, as her active decision to kill Holofernes, no matter the cost to her soul, proves. 

Works Cited

Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. “Judith.” The Norton Anthology of English

Literature. 8th ed., vol. 1, W.W. Norton, 2006, pp. 100–8.

The KJV Standard Bible. King James Bible Online, 2024.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/