Wounded Images

“This is a vivid and challenging text that calls upon readers to re-examine and reconstruct the fundamental building blocks of theology through a powerful, poetic encounter with God’s wounded image in the literature of Jean Rhys. This meeting with brokenness is both tragic and renewing; it demolishes old paradigms and unfolds to reveal the surprising form of a tender and transformative hope.”


—Heather Walton, professor of theology and creative practice, University of Glasgow





“Kristine Whaley offers a nuanced, sensitive, and sophisticated account of a relational theology of the imago Dei that insists on taking account of, and remaining accountable to, the experiences of the most marginalized. Wounded Images draws together a wealth of material, from a wide-ranging analysis of twentieth- and twenty-first-century theology to a deep consideration of the methodology of theological engagements with literature, to detailed, original readings of the theological implications of Jean Rhys’s literary works.”


—Elizabeth Anderson, senior lecturer in English, University of Aberdeen





“This careful critique of the imago Dei focuses on the limitations of traditional hierarchical and oppressive imaginings of God as power. The theme of wounding and trauma is established as a personal and present concern, not an abstract notion that affects others outside of scholarly work. The call to tell, and listen to, stories from the margins and situations of trauma is compelling and makes this book of interest to a reader of theology as lived experience, as well as the academic working in the interdisciplinary field of marginal theologies and literature, and the work of Jean Rhys.”


—Fiona Darroch, lecturer in religion, University of Stirling





“This book is deeply theological, beginning with Karl Barth and Paul Tillich followed by more contemporary feminist theologians, yet also rooted in the wounded female characters of Jean Rhys’ fiction. It weaves complex strands of argument to suggest how God connects to us through the wounds. There are no easy solutions, but the end is not despair, rather a reminder that even the oppressed and broken are made in the image of God who is bound to us in love.”


—David Jasper, professor emeritus of literature and theology, University of Glasgow