JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
  • About K
  • Academics
  • Admission
  • Alumni Relations
  • Giving to K
  • News & Events
  • Student Life
  • HORNET HIVE
  • ATHLETICS
  • SITEMAP
  • WEBMAIL
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   CACHE Homepage
    • Academic Departments, Programs, and SIPs
    • History
    • History Senior Individualized Projects
    • View Item
    •   CACHE Homepage
    • Academic Departments, Programs, and SIPs
    • History
    • History Senior Individualized Projects
    • View Item

    Possessed of Seven Devils: Images of the Magdalene in the New Testament, The Apocrypha, and Gnosticism

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    non-printable PDF, Kalamazoo College only (3.386Mb)
    Date
    1991
    Author
    West, Emily Blanchard
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    We have now seen how a minor biblical figure, that of Mary Magdalene, has been vastly reinterpreted by no less than four major religious traditions, all associated with the Western Church. There is the popular Mary Magdalene, the voluptuous penitent, a contribution from the Church Fathers, who used her as a symbol of the beauty of repentance and conversion. Such an alluring image easily overshadows the New Testament evidence for the 'historical' Mary Magdalene. In the biblical figure upon which the popular tradition rests, we find little evidence for the Magdalene's supposed youth, beauty, or past sinfulness. The New Testament portrait of Magdalene was probably meant to be one of an older woman of independent means who experienced a religious conversion after being healed by Jesus. Her place in the Bible is really only significant in John, but she was important enough to be mentioned in all the gospels. As a satellite to the canonical Magdalene, there is the Magdalene who occasionally appears in the Apocrypha, but generally as a minor character brought in to fill a position, not as a central figure. Finally, there is the Magdalene of Gnosticism. The Gnostics seemed to have found that in the Magdalene of the Gospel of John they had found a representative of their faith, an allegory for their own struggle with the rest of Christianity, and their search to achieve gnosis. In addition to this, the Gnostics may have allowed women a larger place in their movement, and relieved them from some of the stigma of original sin. The Gnostics had more of a feminine presence in the theology, and in their dialogues they make use of many forms of sexual imagery. All the above Gnostic traits combined to make the Magdalene described in the Gnostic gospels a very rich and intriguing character. Doubtless, if all of the Marys, along with their biblical predecessor, were to somehow become incarnate and be introduced to one another, it is unlikely that they would even be able to recognize themselves. Each group and system has created their own version of the woman, and used her to represent certain aspects of their faith or view of the world.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10920/9893
    Collections
    • Classics Senior Individualized Projects [81]
    • History Senior Individualized Projects [655]
    • Religion Senior Individualized Projects [171]

    Browse

    All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Login

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2021  DuraSpace
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
    Logo

    Kalamazoo College
    1200 Academy Street
    Kalamazoo Michigan 49006-3295
    USA
    Info 269-337-7000
    Admission 1-800-253-3602

    About K
    Academics
    Admission
    Alumni Relations
    Giving to K
    News & Events
    Student Life
    Sitemap
    Map & Directions
    Contacts
    Directories
    Nondiscrimination Policy
    Consumer Information
    Official disclaimer
    Search this site


    Academic Calendars
    Apply
    Bookstore
    Crisis Response
    Employment
    Library
    Registrar
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV