The visual portrayal of Mary Magdalene : a case study in feminist ethical issues

Abstract

Historically, the Roman Catholic Church has used visual imagery as a powerful didactic tool to support and validate the patriarchal structure of the Christian faith. This study focuses on the prevalent visual portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a penitent prostitute. This visual conceptualisation is exposed as an unjust condemnation of a biblical woman whose apostolic calling is validated by the Gospel accounts. A critical examination of the Christian iconography within a representative selection of Mary Magdalene imagery further identifies a bias of condemnation towards women's sexuality. Thus, Mary Magdalene is epitomised as the archetypal immoral woman, and unfavourably contrasted to the chaste purity of the Virgin Mary. The study evaluates the ethical implications of this mis-representation, and proposes, as a corrective to the imbalance, the creative actualisation of positive woman-affirming imagery. · An extended chronological index of Mary Magdalene imagery is appended to the study as Appendix A