A disappointingly superficial treatment of the most revered female
figure in the Western world. Pelikan, of Yale University,
undoubtedly one of the outstanding scholars of Christian history,
repeats a formula that worked quite well in his most recent book,
Jesus Through the Centuries (1985): Follow the chronological
development of a religious figure through 2,000 years of high
culture and theology, organize your chapters around archetypal
categories, and sprinkle liberally with literary quotations and
discussions of art and music. Unfortunately, this time his approach
misses the mark, for he almost entirely ignores the role of Mary in
popular culture. Pelikan fails to acknowledge that even in the
early Church Mary's impact on the popular imagination had already
outpaced her theological importance. Details of such devotion are
largely absent. For instance, Pelikan mentions in passing that a
Mariocentric festival may have influenced a prominent fifth-century
theologian, but we are told nothing about the festival itself, its
rituals, or its participants. It is only toward the end of the
book, in the brief chapter entitled "Woman Clothed with the Sun,"
that Pelikan begins to address such matters as Mary's supposed
appearances at Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fatima. Here he implicitly
notes, finally, that Marian miracles have meant more to ordinary
folks than all of Mary's appearances in Dante and Milton put
together. There are other flaws. After hyping the "nigra sum" ("I
am black and beautiful") connection in the introduction, Pelikan
devotes only two pages to observing that the Madonna has appeared
as a black goddess in many cultures. Some strengths of the book
include Pelikan's comprehensive knowledge of Byzantine Christianity
(sorely neglected by many scholars), his clear passion for art and
music, and his easy writing style. The strengths unfortunately do
not compensate for the book's foundational disregard of popular
piety. (Kirkus Reviews)
The Virgin Mary has been an inspiration to more people than any
other woman who ever lived. For Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and
Muslims, for artists, musicians, and writers, and for women and men
everywhere she has shown many faces and personified a variety of
virtues. In this important book, a world-renowned scholar who is
the author of numerous books-including the best-selling Jesus
Through the Centuries-tells how Mary has been depicted and
venerated through the ages. Jaroslav Pelikan examines the biblical
portrait of Mary, analyzing both the New and Old Testaments to see
how the bits of information provided about her were expanded into a
full-blown doctrine. He explores the view of Mary in late
antiquity, where the differences between Mary, the mother of
Christ, and Eve, the "mother of all living," provided positive and
negative symbols of women. He discusses how the Eastern church
commemorated Mary and how she was portrayed in the Holy Qur'an of
Islam. He explains how the paradox of Mary as Virgin Mother shaped
the paradoxical Catholic view of sexuality and how Reformation
rejection of the worship of Mary allowed her to be a model of faith
for Protestants. He considers also her role in political and social
history. He analyzes the place of Mary in literature-from Dante,
Spenser, and Milton to Wordsworth, George Eliot, and Goethe-as well
as in music and art, and he describes the miraculous apparitions of
Mary that have been experienced by the common people. Was Mary
human or divine? Should she be revered for her humility or her
strength? What is her place in heaven? Whatever our answers to
these questions, Mary remains a symbol of hope and solace, a woman,
says Pelikan, for all seasons and all reasons.
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