Double Turning and the Gesture of Touch: Bodies in Action in John 20 v. Clarissa Breu, Universität Wien

The encounter between Jesus and Mary in John 20:1–18 has inspired a large amount of research literature because it is crucial to questions of christology, resurrection, and Mary Magdalene's role as a resurrection witness. However, gesture has rarely been addressed, even though gestures create their own plot in a narrative and shape the way we construct bodies and their interactions. Drawing on Judith Butler's theory of gesture, Mary's double turn (20:14.16) can be understood as a non-identical repetition. If gesture is defined as the assembly of a bodily action and its interruption, the blank space of Mary's gesture between "Rabbuni" and "Do not touch me" (20:16-17) allows Mary and Jesus to appear as a performative unit rather than as oppositional counterparts. The way we perceive bodily interactions, therefore, also shapes the way we understand a text.