Ancient Israelthe primary obligation of a married woman was to bear children for her husband, particularly male children" (Calloway 13). Sara, with her infertility, also falls short of her marital duties and belittles the blessing. It is very difficult for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham if Abraham's wife does not become pregnant. Sara tries to compensate for her inadequacy with a gesture that seems altruistic: she gives her maidservant, Hagar, to Abraham. But all that does is circumvent her obligation, create rivalry, and produce and Abramic line that is divided and at war throughout the remainder of the book of Genesis. The dynasties of Isaac, the son of Sara eventually does produce, and Ishmael, the son of Hagar, are warring parties not only in Genesis but throughout the entirety of biblical history.The barrenness of Rachel similarly jeopardizes God's goals and, more particularly, their family legacy. She endures an infertility crisis not dissimilar to the former travails of her husband's grandmother. Like Sara, Rachel tries to overcome her inferiority as a barren wife by offering her maidservant in her stead. However, this measure does not alleviate her grief, and the text goes on to describe a transaction wherein Rachel, in the hope of conceiving, haggles with her sister Leah over a plant thought to be an aphrodisiac with fertility powers. Rachel in despair, pleads with Jacob to "Give me children - otherwise I am dead" (30:1).Despite her willingness to bear children, Rachel presents an obstacle to the value of fertility. Although she does not pose the extreme threat that Sara presented, since Jacob sires children through Leah and his two concubines, her infertility still represents a serious obstacle to both her universal and her particular function as child bearer. Hence, the values in Genesis are contravened by yet another woman who does not conform to the female archetype of fertile mother.While fertility is an ...
