The Electra complex is a psychoanalytic term used to describe a girl’s sense of competition with her mother for the affection of her father. It is comparable to the Oedipus complex in males. Sigmund Freud pioneered both questionable theories, each one with unintentional comic possibilities, although it was Carl Jung who, in 1913, coined the term “Electra complex.”
A camp line from the 1956 movie Never Say Goodbye: “You must be very gentle with her. She has an advanced Electra complex.” — Raymond Greenleaf, as Dr. Andrews, discussing his patient Lisa Gostling, portrayed by German actress Cornell Borchers.
That story in Genesis 19 of Lot, his wife, and the libidinous daughters who climb in bed with Daddy would make more sense -- literary and perhaps theological -- if events happened like this: In the small, boring town of Zoar, Lot's nubile daughters seduce him because there are no boys their age. He screws the elder daughter one night, and the next night the younger. Learning the truth of her daughters' pregnancies, Lot's wife is so mortified that, in her rage, she deliquesces. Now cold, her remains resemble a tall, feminized wedge of salt.
Nine months later, each daughter bears a son. Lot, his daughters, and their incestuous offspring, having scandalized the good folk of Zoar, pack up and move to Sodom where they can continue their nightly revels. In this cosmopolitan city, no one questions Lot's explanation that he is the widowed grandfather of two tykes; to be sure, the resemblance is striking. How good he is, say the Sodomites, to take in his daughters following the demise of their lawful husbands, for that is the girls' fabricated explanation.
Lot's family, exotic Hebrews in a city of different ethnicity, rises to a certain prominence. But Yahweh, the Hebrew god, is displeased: his anger seethes at this reprobate nephew of the well-favored Abraham, and in one of his regular fits of pique, Yahweh destroys Sodom, its sister city Gomorrah, the other cities of the plain and all who dwell therein, for the punishment of Lot, the offender. The denizens of Sodom and Gomorrah, not numbered among Yahweh's chosen, are expendable. But, since this is a fairy tale, Lot and his daughters escape. Climbing out of the rubble, they shake off the dust and live happily ever after. The boys grow up, marry pagan wives, and beget offspring who further crowd the overpopulated land of Canaan.
Or this:
Lot's wife grows suspicious...something unsavory is going on under her roof. Late one afternoon, returning home from the Zoar market, she walks in on her husband and her younger daughter...petting! A horrendous quarrel ensues. Clay pots are thrown, wine and olive oil soak the earthen floor of the family home. The story becomes dirtier still when the elder daughter defies her mother: "Why? Because you’re menopausal, but we're young and sexy — and willing!"
The wife flees with only the clothes on her back. Since she is Lot's property, however, he calls down the fury of Yahweh, his god, upon her. From that day, a peculiar pale stalagmite stands beside the road half a kilometer from the front door of Lot's house. Livestock come from nearby pastures to lick the sculpture, enchanted by its salty taste on their tongues.
Word of the scandal having spread, the family is shunned. No peasant boys come to call on the Lot girls. Unnerved by these events, and missing his voluptuous wife after all, Lot turns to stronger wine. Night after night, his daughters ply him with drink. In less than a year, the family home is full of infant noise. Such ill repute angers the narrow-minded townsfolk. Gossip turns to outrage. A mob chases the loose-living Lot family out of town. "And stay out!" their upright neighbors shriek.
Lot and family emigrate to Sodom, where no one knows their past and, indeed, no one cares. Later, however, an earthquake jolts the city, destroying it along with the neighboring town of Gomorrah and outlying suburbs across the plain, including Admah, Zeboim and several others.
Yahweh, remembering his people, leads Lot and the daughters, along with the two little boys, safely across the desert to a new life on a fertile farm. After many years, Lot, grown old, regards strapping Moab and well-built Benammi as they till the soil and reap rich harvests. With deep satisfaction, he muses, "My grandsons, and my sons."
Others have considered a similar deconstruction of biblical narrative. At least two seventeenth-century painters portrayed Lot's daughters as having been impregnated long before the destruction of their city: Guido Reni, whose "Lot and His Daughters Leaving Sodom," (ca. 1615-1616) hangs in the National Gallery, London; and
Peter Paul Rubens, "The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodom," (ca. 1613-1615) in the Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida. In each work, one daughter is visibly pregnant even as they flee the city.
And now, a pause for a note on terminology followed by a brief glossary.
Terminology
Yahweh is one name given by ancient Hebrews to their deity, who in their religion created and ruled the universe; Elohim is another name. Yahweh is often translated "Lord" in English, and Elohim translated "God." You will not find either Hebrew word in the King James Version of the Bible, but these two names are behind each "God" and "Lord." To avoid confusion and hair-splitting, I have stuck with "Yahweh" as possibly more familiar to the general reader. Jehovah, which sometimes appears in English-language Bibles and in many Christian hymns, is a Latinized version of Yahweh.
I have called those ancient worshippers of Yahweh the Hebrews rather than Israelites because I am writing mainly about characters and events in Genesis 18 and 19. Only later in the Book of Genesis is the patriarch Jacob renamed Israel and his people the Israelites. To refer to earlier biblical characters as Israelites would, therefore, be anachronistic. Israelis, of course, are citizens of the modern state of Israel.
When I refer to Jews -- as distinct from Israelites -- I am speaking of those people who have lived during the past two thousand years, a period that is increasingly called the Common Era, or C.E., as opposed to the older term, A.D. -- Anno Domini-- meaning "the year of the Lord" and referring to the birth of Christ. Similarly, B.C.E. replaces B.C., i.e., "before Christ."
In transliterating Hebrew words, I have generally used common-sense spellings to give English speakers the least complicated pronunciations.
A BASIC GLOSSARY OF SLIPPERY TERMS
Yahweh — One name for the god of the Hebrews.
Elohim — Another name for the Hebrew god.
Jehovah — The Latinized version of Yahweh.
Talmud — The vast rabbinic commentary on the Bible, on Jewish law, mores, and theology. It turns up briefly in a later chapter.
midrash — Interpretation of biblical texts; a search for “words behind the words.”
proof text — A verse or passage of scripture, typically taken out of context, that is intended to “prove” a certain point of theology or doctrine. Especially popular with fundamentalists and with those who take the entire Bible literally.
myth — A traditional or legendary story, usually concerning a hero or an event, with or without a basis in fact or a scientific explanation. Myths are especially useful in explaining the origin of gods, of natural phenomena, of national and patriotic beginnings.
legend — The words “myth” and “legend” are often used interchangeably, and the overlap is indeed great. The distinction is this: myths tend to include supernatural elements in a timeless past, while legends are based on historical events or actual persons. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a myth; young George Washington chopping down the cherry tree is a legend. So is the story of actress Lana Turner discovered at the soda fountain of Schwab’s Drug Store in Hollywood.
Bibliolatry — Worship of the Bible itself rather than God, Jesus, or the Trinity.
fine arts — Examples: painting, sculpture, architecture, classical music, opera, music, poetry, literature.
pop culture — As in myth and legend, there is great overlap of what is considered fine art, or high culture, and pop culture. Examples of the latter: comic books, ‘zines, television, movies, pop music, social media. Now that Harvard University offers a course on Taylor Swift, one assumes she has transcended pop to join the immortals.
Plans are afoot in Cambridge, I’m told, for a Harvard major in Doja Cat Studies with a minor in The Social Impact of Bad Bunny.
deconstruction — In simplest terms, the attempt to understand the relationship between text and meaning. In other words, close reading of a text. As used in Beautiful Downtown Sodom, the disassembling of a largely incoherent myth to show its misapplication, whether intentional or not, to homosexuality when the original meaning, insofar as there is one, has to do with the violation of ancient Middle Eastern rules of hospitality to strangers.
fundamentalist — One who applies strict, literal interpretation of the Bible and who advocates behavior based on biblical rules and principles from both Old and New Testaments. Fundamentalists are especially prone to condemnation and punishment of those with different beliefs and interpretations.
evangelical — Fundamentalist Christians are evangelical, but not all evangelical Christians are fundamentalists. Evangelicals take the Bible seriously and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the means of salvation for sinful humanity. Many are open to varying interpretations of biblical texts, and some even consider the Bible as a general guidebook rather than a compendium of ironclad rules. The word “evangelical,” from Greek, means “good news” or “Gospel.”
B.C.E. — Before the Common Era; the contemporary equivalent of B.C., “before Christ.”
C.E. — The Common Era, previously A.D., Anno Domini, the Year of the Lord; i.e., after the birth of Christ.