Cutting down the Inflation
To what end does the strength from the long hair serve Sampson? In reading about his super-human acts, I felt a twinge of sadness about his duty-driven work.
This role was not his choice, but an identity thrust upon him by his parents in service to their god.
The hair leads to inflation, not to reality. The feminine’s cutting down of this inflation is seen as the villainous. But the dynamic pictured by Master ES, in the 15th century depicts a young male draped over the mature woman’s body. This is not an image of the temptress stealing away the strong-man’s power; but an easing down to earth, down to reality.
Etching:
Samson and Delilah
Master ES
German
15th century
