Alone of all her sex: The myth and the cult of the Virgin Mary (Paperback)

~ (Author) "IN HIS URGENT MISSIVE to the Galatians, St. Paul stresses that Jesus was fully human and yet the son of God..." (more)
Key Phrases: nuptial imagery, woman clothed with the sun, nostre dame, Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Song of Solomon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dramatic, informative and entertaining...a substantial and provocative book." - TLS

"A work of remarkably elegant and eloquent scholarship." - Observer

"Astonishing and enlightening.... packed with scholarship, imagery, vivid selection, and wry contrastive comment." - Margaret Mead -- Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"Dramatic, informative and entertaining...a substantial and provocative book." - TLS

"A work of remarkably elegant and eloquent scholarship." - Observer

"Astonishing and enlightening.... packed with scholarship, imagery, vivid selection, and wry contrastive comment." - Margaret Mead --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Knopf : distributed by Random House; First American Edition edition (1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394499131
• ISBN-13: 978-0394499130
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #609,447 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, well researched, April 20, 2002

By	"troytron" (Charlotte, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary (Paperback)

The fact remains that this book offers a very solid and accurately researched survey of the development of the "phenomenon" of devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is not exhaustive by any means, but traces all the major strains of development from at least the third century. What the book fails to do adequately is critically delve into the real roots of Marian themes as found in the New Testament records. Indeed, what we see in the very first century of the Christian/Biblical era is a rather rapid (and radical) development of attitudes about the Mother of Jesus, a shift from early indifference and ignorance of Mary's role (the Marcan Gospel, Pauline letters) to an outright "lifting up" of Mary as the Ideal Christian, the First True Disciple, worthy of loud praise (Luke), and even iconic status as Eve-Israel 'Mother of believers'(John) and glorified symbol of the Church itself (Revelation). I wish Werner had spent more time drawing attention to how swift and startling these developments in the understanding of Mary were when the New Testament writings were being composed. Also, how did these "arcs of thought" regarding Mary take root geographically in the 2nd century church? Werner could have noted that it was no coincidence that Gospel communities giving great prominence to the figure of Mary(Luke's Antioch, the Johannine churches) in the first century continued to preserve these emphases in the 2nd (Ignatius of Anioch, Irenaeus-Justin, etc). Otherwise, Werner gives a solid depiction of how formative ecclesiastical motives (asceticism, Christological controversy) rattled the chains of Mary's rather flexible image in the patristic age, and how her mystique lent itself so readily to mythical, legendary rumblings about her death, intercessory powers, etc. A fascinating handbook and not even remotely [a] feminist manifesto ... It seems that some would have a hard time handling the reality that much of what Mary represents was a complex combination of iconic mythologizing that began in Scriptural/Apostolic times and only grew in succeeding centuries according to the demands of the age and normal human piety.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant research and interpretation, January 23, 2006

By	Elizabeth G. Melillo "gloriana" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary (Paperback)

Marina Warner's writing style is so magnificent that each paragraph seems a tribute to the beauty of the English language. I should like to use this book as an instruction manual for advanced courses in literary composition.

In itself, this book is a landmark work of European history. Marina's treatment of nearly a millennium of devotions, historical implications, poetry, art, and culture is exceedingly extensive and cohesive.

I withheld the fifth star because the underlying thesis, that the devotions to Mary have condemned women to inferior status, distorts the essence of the devotions chronicled. Even in the 'age of faith,' the connections between devotion, which admits to God's ways being unknowable, and the physical manifestations (icons, relics and the like) which make them come alive for the believer, hardly would have been veritable manuals of 'how to use Mary's holiness to underline female inferiority.' In fact, were this book a historical work without the feminist angle, it would have been far better.

15 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for Christians, February 21, 2005

By	virgin curiosity - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary (Paperback)

Warner's book is far more than a mere history of the Virgin Mary. It is not intended for devout Catholics who only wish to hear praise heaped on the mother of God. What Warner does is chronicle the journey that Mary has taken throughout history, highlighting her many cultural guises and pointing out how they have historically been used to reflect the political motivations of the church. For anyone who is looking to read something beyond the sterile propoganda of a religion that has too long controlled the way in which people perceive and treat women, this is a book that will answer many questions. A beautiful read, written sensitively by a woman who knows Catholicism intimately, but who has been disillusioned by the deeply misogynistic foundations of the Catholic faith.