On one level, this is simply a story about a man and a woman at a well. Of course, in Jesus’ day it wasn’t normal or even socially acceptable for these two to be speaking at the well at the same time. This is because they were of opposite genders, and on top of that, the woman was a Samaritan. Clearly the event is recorded to illustrate that Jesus’ approach to women, even foreign women, was radically different from the religious life in which he had been raised. Not only that, but he opened a door to dialogue with a representative of a culture that the Israelites were at odds with and considered heretics.