Mary Magdalene by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
"Mary Magdalene" by Ellen Gunderson Traylor is a fictional novel that explores the life of Mary Magdalene, a significant female figure in the narrative of Jesus of Nazareth. The story begins with Mary's childhood in Magdala, where she becomes the caretaker for her siblings after her mother's death and her father's descent into alcoholism. As the plot unfolds, Mary faces severe hardships, including being sold into a brothel by her father, leading to a harrowing transformation into a life of sexual slavery. The narrative delves into themes of suffering, healing, and forgiveness, highlighting Mary’s struggle with her identity as she transitions from a victim of abuse to a follower of Jesus.
Throughout her journey, Mary experiences emotional and physical trauma, which culminates in a pivotal encounter with Jesus, who heals her and restores her sense of self. The novel emphasizes the importance of compassion and love, illustrating how Mary learns to forgive both her father and those who wronged her, embodying the teachings of Jesus. Ultimately, she emerges as a devoted disciple, witnessing both Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Traylor’s portrayal of Mary Magdalene is a poignant exploration of resilience and redemption, presenting her as a symbol of hope and transformation within the context of faith and female agency in a historical setting.
Mary Magdalene by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
First published: 1985
Edition(s) used:Mary Magdalene. Polson, Mont.: Port Hole Publications, 2001
Genre(s): Novel
Subgenre(s): Historical fiction (first century)
Core issue(s): Healing; love; suffering; women
Principal characters
Mary (Magdalene) Bar Michael , the protagonist, a follower of Jesus, known as Rahab during her years as a prostituteMichael Bar Andreas , Mary’s widowed alcoholic father, who sells his daughter into prostitutionTobias , Mary’s younger brotherTamara , Mary’s younger sister, Tobias’s twinSuzanna , Mary’s disabled childhood friend and liberatorEzra , a brothel ownerJudah Bar David , Mary’s loverJesus of Nazareth , the savior who heals Mary
Overview
Ellen Gunderson Traylor’s Mary Magdalene is a fictional account of the life of Mary Magdalene, Jesus of Nazareth’s most significant female follower. The novel chronicles Mary’s life from childhood through early adulthood. At the age of nine, Mary Bar Michael has many responsibilities, but she bears them with grace and resolve. She is a model Jewish girl, and the promise she made to her dying mother lingers: to keep the family together as long as she can. Young twins, a boy and a girl, are placed in Mary’s care. Her widowed father, Michael Bar Andreas, once a fisherman of repute, allows alcoholism, fueled by despair over his wife’s death, to engulf his life.
With her father no longer willing or able to provide for his children, Mary becomes her family’s chief caretaker. The children scavenge outside the village of Magdala, searching for scraps along the shoreline of Galilee. When sympathetic fishermen leave a portion of their catch for the children, the bounty enrages Michael. He refuses to allow his children to feast on charity. Obedient offspring, they deposit the fish on the ash heap and deny their hunger. The memory of her mother’s instruction in the domestic arts keeps Mary’s attitude positive in the face of parental neglect. A pact of lifelong friendship made with Suzanna, a disabled friend, is another blessing. Mary contemplates working as a maid in neighboring homes to support her siblings, but her plans derail.
Without Mary’s knowledge, Michael sells his daughter to the owner of a local brothel to secure funds for his addiction. In her own home, a terrified Mary endures a gang rape instigated by Ezra, manager of the brothel, and sanctioned by her father. It is a cruel initiation into the life that awaits her. For the next decade she will serve the pleasures of paying customers. However, before this transformation can occur, her identity as Mary must be expunged. Through a systematic brainwashing, Mary’s memories of her family and her Jewish faith are erased until only Rahab remains, a child prostitute who cannot recall her prior existence.
Initially, life in the brothel is less harsh for Rahab than for the other women. Because Ezra can demand a high price based on her beauty and youth, Rahab’s clientele are select and often from reputable society. Unlike other enslaved women, she does not have to ply her trade on the streets and suffer the dangers of the night. Rahab falls in love with a particularly handsome and loving client, Judah Bar David, who, as indicated by his name, is a descendent of the Old Testament house of David. Judah reciprocates her love. His family, shaken by the inappropriate attachment, sends a servant to Rahab to demand she end their affair. Ultimately Judah abandons Rahab; heartbroken, she despairs her lonely state. On the street fronting the brothel, another descendent of the house of David, Jesus of Nazareth, preaches. Rahab hears his voice, and his words intrigue her, but she is not free to leave and follow his teachings.
Rahab’s incarceration as a prostitute living under an assumed name eventually leads to insanity. She hallucinates and breaks with reality at the same time that memories from her former life intrude. Quite possibly she has contracted a venereal disease, syphilis, the symptoms of which include mental derangement. Thrown into a dungeon beneath the brothel, unkempt and uncared for, she is left to writhe alone with her illness and her demons. Rowdy young boys, led by Ezra’s illegitimate son, tease her through the bars of her prison. She exposes her diseased flesh to their view and screams like the madwoman she has become.
For years, Suzanna has been searching for her missing childhood friend. Rumors lead her to the brothel. When she locates the altered Mary in the dungeon, she initiates her escape from sexual slavery and reunites her with her younger sister and brother. A convert to the messiah’s teachings and a recipient of his healing, Suzanna introduces Mary to Jesus. He casts demons from Mary’s mind and body and purifies her spirit. Drawn to Jesus, she seeks to repay his kindness. At a dinner hosted by Suzanna’s skeptical father, Jesus is invited to speak. In a scene that reenacts gospel accounts, Mary washes Jesus’ feet with the expensive oils of her former trade and dries his feet with strands of her hair. While her actions scandalize the attendant Pharisees, Jesus declares himself pleased, reminding the crowd that her sins have been forgiven.
Mary leaves behind her old life and follows Jesus and his disciples. She is among a small band of women whose presence displeases the apostles. Jesus rebukes the forbidding men and welcomes the women into his discipleship. In an age when women were often excluded from religious practice, Jesus’ act announces a central role for their gender in the new religion he will inspire. Loyal Mary is at the foot of his cross to witness Jesus’ suffering and death, and it is to Mary that Jesus appears after leaving his tomb. She is the first to hear his good news of resurrection.
The novel concludes with Mary seeking Michael Bar Andreas, now aged and infirm and alone. She welcomes him back into the family fold. Her forgiveness of her father’s sins extends the forgiveness she received from Jesus, and her commitment to a life of good acts in his name is evident.
Christian Themes
The primary theme of Traylor’s novel is healing, whether the pain that needs remedy derives from physical or spiritual suffering. Mary’s family is torn apart by her mother’s death and her father’s alcoholism. Her innocence is shattered by her induction into prostitution at a young age and by the knowledge of her father’s complicity in her bondage. The pain inflicted on Mary’s body is rife, but her spiritual suffering is more poignant. The sanctified and comforting rituals of Jewish faith were replaced by vulgar and defiling acts of physical and mental abuse in the brothel, particularly her harrowing sexual initiation. When Jesus drives the demons from Mary’s mind and body, he heals both her flesh and her spirit. If Rahab is cast out of Mary’s body, so too is the old Mary. Mary is cleansed of her afflictions and receives both revived health and a new identity. She is introduced through Jesus’ teachings to a new kind of love, one that is the foundation of the Christian ethos: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
A second theme critical to the novel is forgiveness. When Jesus casts out Mary’s demons, he simultaneously forgives her sins. Mary, who has been more sinned against than sinning, must consider her own future course of action. Bitterness at the memory of what others have done to her is replaced by compassion for her former tormentors.
When a prostitute from the brothel visits Mary at Suzanna’s home, Mary greets her and treats her with respect. When Mary locates her outcast father, she remains with him even after he tells her his children are dead to him. Their reunion is based on her ability to forgive his past behaviors and to love him unconditionally, behaviors she has learned from Jesus.
Sources for Further Study
Duncan, Melanie C. Review of Mary Magdalene. Library Journal 126, no. 14 (September, 2001): 158-159. Recommends the novel’s intense depiction of the life of Mary Magdalene.
“Ellen Gunderson Traylor.” Contemporary Authors Online. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006. A brief biography of Traylor that lists her works.
Haskins, Susan. Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor. New York: Harper Collins, 1993. Account of the life of Mary Magdalene that offers facts about what scholars know of the historical Mary and insight into the myths that surround her legacy.