O sentido da pessoalidade da mulher em Edith Stein

Abstract

This paper seeks to clarify a specifically feminine formation doctrine of Edith Stein, in regard to the natural vocation of woman and of man, highlighting the formation of the woman faced with her natural and social being and involving feminist issues of a modern society, which, in its turn, insists on understanding woman as only a predominantly social being. With this the woman suffocates her natural vocation of being mother and wife to work socially, de-characterizing herself as a woman and taking on a masculine posture toward society, the work market and even the family. Upon leaving her maternal vocation the woman becomes ever more active in the profession or in the environment in which she is professionally inserted. However, her true vocation is to be man s companion and the heart of the family. Stein (1999) deals with the relation of the feminine soul with the modern world, as relates to the concept itself of understanding the feminine being and the personhood of the woman. She shows that the woman can gain space in the market and in society, being a competent and respected professional, without necessarily de-characterizing herself. The Steinian approach to the subject, far from having the pretension of imposing a truth, seeks to dialog seriously and openly with other positions regarding the subject.