The most common narrative that I heard about the woman at the well was this:
She was a lowly adulteress, as she was married 5 times and was living with the 6th.
She was ashamed, which is why she came to draw water from the well at midday to avoid the gossip of other women.
May I suggest a different narrative? What if the woman at the well was a beautiful, self-assured, influencer?
John Chapter 4
First, let’s start with the historical context in which this story occurred. In the biblical days, women’s rights were severely restricted compared to modern standards. Respectable women were expected to stay at home, could not engage in commerce, and did not talk to men in public. Men were permitted to address a woman only when her husband was present. Also, due to ethnic tensions, Jews were not supposed to speak to Samaritans. These are a few among numerous restrictions placed on women in those times.1
To avoid repeatedly using the term “the woman at the well,” I will refer to her as Photina, a name given to her by the Catholic Church.2
A Maven
Photina was an influencer as she was able to convince the people of her town to meet Jesus.
“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward him (John 4:28 – 30).”
Can you imagine how a disgraced, socially shunned, quiet woman could get the attention and impact the town? Although her compelling testimony may have been the work of God (Moses described himself as not eloquent and slow of speech and tongue, but was able to get the people of Israel out of Egypt), He may have used Photina’s natural abilities as well. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, The Tipping Point, talks about how a message can spread like a virus. He argues that it requires the intervention of a connector, a maven or a salesperson.3 Photina could have been a maven, as mavens are able to start “word-of-mouth epidemics” due to their knowledge, social skills, and ability to communicate. Mavens are regarded as “people we rely upon to connect us with new information.” The ability to disseminate information through word of mouth from mavens have been studied in marketing research.4 After all, after the people of the town met Jesus, they said,
“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world (John 4:42).”
This implies that they initially believed that Jesus was the Savior of the world based on her testimony alone. Photina’s word of mouth was powerful.
Self-Assured
Is it just me or do you also get the feeling that Photina is a bit overly self-assured and argumentative with Jesus? Here are her replies to Jesus.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”
“Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
“I have no husband.”
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us (John 4:9-25).”
Repeatedly, her words challenged Jesus and highlighted her problems with his statements. Twice, she questioned Jesus’ position in the Kingdom’s hierarchy. Instead of insisting that she pour him a drink, Photina even highlighted her superior position in terms of who has a cup. She was brazenly open about her marital situation. And when she got called out on her past, she changed the subject to mountain worshipping.
When we look at her replies in the social context of the Biblical Talmudic times, her statements are scandalous, if not bold and argumentative. Dare I say with a degree of narcissism? (Dear Photina in heaven. Don’t be mad if I’m way off). Theories of narcissism propose that under the outer shell of self-esteem and social ease mask the inner emptiness.5 The people (probably mostly men) in her town might be drawn to her charisma, charm and high sense of drama associated with her self-confidence.6 However, true narcissist lack empathy which deprives her of emotional connection and support from others. Perhaps this is why this story can be even more powerful—that Jesus reached out to someone with a shell of confidence and a core of brokenness. He saw it and He went there. Maybe this is why she became an instant zealot for Jesus.
Beautiful
Photina could’ve been a self-assured, influencer. Then, is it possible to conclude that she had some physical beauty? She was married five times. Since in those days, women could not divorce five men; Photina may have been a divorcee or a widow five times as her men could have died from warfare, disease, injury or old age.7 A widow became either another man’s wife or a prostitute or a beggar. When she meets Jesus, she is unmarried with a sixth man. Maybe she was a prostitute? But perhaps the sixth man was with her because of her beauty? Research had shown that men were more likely to accept an unfair deal when the offer came from an attractive woman.8 Another study concluded that an attractive criminal is likely to get a shorter prison sentence versus an unattractive criminal.9 Also, beauty seems to create a halo effect. A halo effect is one positive evaluation of a person that biases an observer to think well of everything connected with that person. Research demonstrates that attractive people are perceived as healthier, sociable, likable and trustworthy(10,11). In the Bible, it states that
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony (John 4:39).”
Possibly it was her beauty that elevated her trustworthy status within that town.
So, am I right about the woman at the well? Most likely not. The Bible is filled with unlikely heroes accomplishing feats above and beyond their ability. Photina may have been one of these “only through God” examples. She may have been a lowly, widow marginalized by the society, who was living in sin with the 6th man in her life. Maybe she was old, unattractive, shy and a social outcast. Regardless of who she may have been, I would like to believe that Photina left her old life after this encounter and followed Jesus throughout His ministry. He would’ve used her, whether she was a beautiful, self-confident maven or not.
References:
1 Jesus and the Role of Women
https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter-jun-1988/jesus-and-the-role-of-
2 The Woman at the Well
http://catholicism.org/the-woman-at-the-well
3 The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tipping_Point
4 The Market Maven: A Diffuser of Marketplace Information
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1251146?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
5 The Paradoxical Needs of the Narcissist
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201405/the-paradoxical-needs-the-narcissist
6 Why Are Narcissists So Darn Sexy?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201304/why-are-narcissists-so-darn-sexy
7 Woman at the Well
https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/tools/ask-a-scholar/woman-at-the-well
8 The undermining effect of facial attractiveness on brain responses to fairness in the Ultimatum Game: an ERP study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25805967
9 When emotionality trumps reason: a study of individual processing style and juror bias.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20583074
10 Do facial averageness and symmetry signal health?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11182573
11 Cosmetics as a feature of the extended human phenotype: modulation of the perception of biologically important facial signals.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21991328
