Author: Beatrice Gormley
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Rating: worthy
This is a novel based on the Biblical New Testament fiction of Mary Magdalene. Unfortunately, it Anglicizes the names way too much so we don't really get a full taste of Middle East flavor even as we're delivered a lot of Hebrew culture and introduced to Hebrew habits and traditions. That struck me as rather odd. Fortunately, the author doesn't buy into every cliché surrounding Mary Magdalene: that she was for example, a prostitute, but we do get an interesting perspective on her supposed seven devils. That itself is another NT fiction. It's mentioned only in Luke, a rip-off gospel, and in the forged portion of Mark. This campaign of vilification against Mary M. is precisely why she's so interesting a person.
Mary Magdalene is a conflation of several different people portrayed in Biblical fiction. There's a good article about her in wikipedia. She often rated as the second most important woman in the NT after Mary, the mother of Jesus, but this is dishonest because Jesus's purported mother contributed nothing. Indeed, Jesus himself rebuked her thereby breaking the sixth commandment ("Woman, what have I to do with thee?" John 2:4). This would indicate that he was openly stating that he was not actually her son. We hear nothing of this Mary except in a couple of places, whereas Mary Magdalene is mentioned more than any other woman, so no, she wasn't second to Mary, but took precedence over her by far.
Now what do I mean by Biblical fiction? Well as far as I am concerned, the Biblical Old Testament is at best a poor record of Hebrew ancient history, but it's been larded-up with fantasy and fiction about the doings of gods, for which there is neither evidence nor support. The New Testament is even worse, since as far as I am concerned, it’s not even Jewish history - it’s all fiction. Yes, Jesus (or rather the actual Hebrew name, Yeshua, or some variant thereof) was a common name in that era, as was Mary (or Miri or whatever), and there may well have been a rabbi named Yeshua, but that doesn’t mean that rabbi was a god, or a manifestation of a god, or a son of a god. I don’t buy that at all because there is no reason to.
There may even have been a Yeshua who was crucified, but that doesn’t prove that he got up out of the grave three days later. I'm not one of these idiots who tediously parrots that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". I mean, I find it extraordinary that the sun is a massive ball of nuclear fusion some 93 million miles away, but that doesn’t mean I require extraordinary evidence to accept that as the truth. No, I merely require sufficient evidence, for this or any other claim that’s not self-evident. Science provides sufficient evidence (and then some). Scientific evidence fits. It makes sense. Religion cannot offer any such evidence for its claims, which is why I don’t buy them. People back then were scientifically ignorant and blinded by religious superstition, and as far as I'm concerned, this accounts adequately for everything that's told in the Bible where it impinges upon, references, or calls for the supernatural.
So why did I choose to read this? To me this is just one more Biblical-style fiction, every bit as valid or invalid as the original. These messianic stories are neither unique nor original to the Bible. There have been scores of "saviors" or "messiahs" throughout history, and across cultures: people who were supposedly born of a virgin, who left home, who rallied people around them, who brought a "new" message, who won followers, who were killed and who supposedly were resurrected and taken up into "heaven". Lord Raglan (4th Baron Raglan) did a study of this archetype, which is worth a look. I don’t believe in any of them and there is no reason to make an exception just because there's yet another such story in the Bible. However, sometimes these stories can be told well, made intriguing, even made to make sense, so I was merely curious as to what Gormley did with this.
Mary is a character who has intrigued me ever since I first learned of her. Indeed, I find her far more fascinating than the main character of the NT! This is why I have an idea on the back burner for a novel about her which will explore why so many people, even in Biblical times, sought to trash her character. When I had the opportunity to buy this one in the Library store (wherein they sell-off discontinued library books at an amazing discount!) I snapped it up.
The author consistently refers to her main character as Mari. This young teen is given a vision of her place in life and is convinced that she should submit to an arranged marriage. Unfortunately, the charming guy she thinks she's getting dies prematurely, and instead she's given to an old curmudgeon who doesn't love her. He already has a dominant woman in his life who spares no mercy for Mari, making her life a misery. When the old guy finally kicks the bucket, Mari is glad and is able to leave the house and not return.
The problem is that during her time in this miserable marriage, Mari becomes slowly seduced by demons without even realizing it's happening to her. Of course, the man who frees her from this possession becomes the man she devotes her life to supporting, and to following and learning from him.
Not the best or most original story in the world, and nothing like the idea I have for a novel, but still this novel is worth a read if you're into tales told well or Biblical fiction.
