A review by awrathall
Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception by Adriana Valerio
4.0
The treatment of the Magdalene in historical, religious and artistic spheres is a topic which I have great personal interest in, and Valerio managed - in a strikingly short text - to offer a compelling and well-founded summary of the various ways her legacies and attributes have been preserved, transformed, or actively twisted for misogynistic means throughout history. She explores the primary literature (including the apocryphal and Gnostic gospels) in great detail to sus out exactly what details about the Magdalene were initially present, and which were added by later actors. For instance, there is no reference to her being ‘sinful’ in any way in any gospel - this was merely extrapolated from a reference to ‘demons’ that had been expelled from her, (which in contemporary use was more likely to mean an issue of mental health or stability than a vice in the later Medieval style).
The only issue I have with the book is that often Valerio would introduce a new piece of evidence i.e. a book, treatise, painting etc., but then leave it there without linking it substantially to other pieces or using to further a longer argument. This was especially prevalent in chapters 4 and 5 which at times felt like a list of every possible reference to the Magdalene that the author could find within a given time frame, rather than a consistent thematic exploration.
The final chapter was exceptional, however, expanding the scope of the study to the relevance of how the Magdalene’s altering to fit existing archetypes affects the modern day position of women in Christian societies, most notably how the efforts of Churches (particularly Catholic) to revoke the Magdalene of her status as an apostle has served the political means of excluding women from positions of Church leadership.
A great and concise book, I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene or women within Christianity in general.
The only issue I have with the book is that often Valerio would introduce a new piece of evidence i.e. a book, treatise, painting etc., but then leave it there without linking it substantially to other pieces or using to further a longer argument. This was especially prevalent in chapters 4 and 5 which at times felt like a list of every possible reference to the Magdalene that the author could find within a given time frame, rather than a consistent thematic exploration.
The final chapter was exceptional, however, expanding the scope of the study to the relevance of how the Magdalene’s altering to fit existing archetypes affects the modern day position of women in Christian societies, most notably how the efforts of Churches (particularly Catholic) to revoke the Magdalene of her status as an apostle has served the political means of excluding women from positions of Church leadership.
A great and concise book, I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene or women within Christianity in general.