Helping a Woman by the River: A Comparative Study of a Gendered Trope

In a striking parallel between a passage from the Confucian philosopher Mengzi and a rabbinic statement in the Talmud, a similar principle is outlined, stating that one should violate taboos concerning gender relations for the sake of saving a drowning woman. The resemblance cannot be explained through a historical connection. In order to understand this trope better, this study includes two further related texts: an early Christian tale from the Desert Fathers, and a Zen story. Stripped to their shared elements, all four stories are concerned with a male assisting a female in an aquatic location, and juxtapose the ethos of assistance for the helpless with the danger posed by the female body and female sexuality. Despite the distinct concerns of each of these traditions, the shared element discloses the hidden male fantasy it bears.