Breathy Shame and the Place of Hebrew in the Work of Jerome of Stridon

Abstract

This article analyses the place of Hebrew in Jerome’s work by situating it in wider patterns of late antique masculinity and shame. Drawing on Sedgwick and Fanon, it shows how shame is a spatial affect. Discussions of Hebrew in Jerome’s work emphasise the particular spaces in which Hebrew is written, read, or transported. One space is particularly important for Jerome’s translations of Hebrew: the space of the mouth as it inhales and exhales language. Focussing on space, language, and breath reveals why Hebrew is particularly shameful for Jerome and explains some of the apparent ambiguities in his discussions of translation.