Gila Fine’s The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud does just this – and to great effect. Fine takes some very famous Talmud stories which feature woman, pouring them into novel molds.
Take the story of Yalta and the wine. This tale has often been cast as the classic “shrew,” narrative, or the story of a disagreeable woman. Shrew stories are designed to display unflattering features of women's dispositions. However, Fine contextualizes the literary trope of the shrew, and in the process, shows us how Yalta is fighting for her treatment at the hand of callous and unthinking men. Fine does this again and again with familiar Talmud stories. The new spin she gives to these stories is nothing short of revolutionary.
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