 |
| Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene, Duccio |
In Part I, Chapter 11 of Anna Karenina, Konstantin Levin and his old friend Stephan Arkadyevich Oblonsky are enjoying a meal together at a restaurant. They are discussing two types of women -- the "pure" and the "fallen".
'You know, to me all women are divided into two classes,' [said Levin] '. . . at least no . . . truer to say: there are women and there are . . . I've never seen exquisite fallen beings, and I shall never see them, but such creatures as that painted French woman at the counter with the ringlets are vermin to my mind, and all fallen women are the same.
'But the Magdalen?'
'Ah, drop that! Christ never would have said those words if He had known how they would be abused. Of all the Gospel those are the only ones remembered.'
*****************************************************************************
'But the Magdalen?'This is referring to Mary Magdalene. Interesting to note is that nowhere in Scripture is she referred to as a "fallen" woman or prostitute. Tolstoy seems to have held this assumption. I was curious how this misconception began, so I did a little research and discovered this tid-bit from Wikipedia:
Few characters in the New Testament have been so sorely miscast as Mary Magdalene. From the sixth century until fairly late in the twentieth century, she has been portrayed as a prostitute. No where in the New Testament is she described in any but the most positive terms. Her reputation as a fallen woman originated not in the Bible but in a sixth-century sermon by Pope Gregory the Great.Mary Magdalene is a prominent character in the New Testament. In several Christian faith traditions she is considered to be a saint. She is introduced in Luke 8:1-2.
Luke 8
8 And it came to pass afterward, that [Jesus] went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils . . .
*All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.
(Source: BibleGateway. Image Source: WikiPaintings)
