Author: María Teresa Álvarez
- Children/Young
- La Esfera de los Libros
- ISBN: 978-8413846989
- Release Date: 10-25-2023
-Reviewed by: José María Manuel García-Osuna Rodríguez
This historical novelist and historian delve into one of the most paradoxical and cryptic evangelical characters ever, surrounded by all kinds of details, who always has sown desires among Christians of all backgrounds for what she could have been. Perhaps Paul of Tarsus or Peter of Capernaum were against her, trying to erase her from history.
But, whatever the case, there is no true and canonical information about her romantic and marital relationship with the Son of God, and if that were the case, the evangelists would not have hidden it, since even the first of them, Peter or Cephas, is documented as having a wife and, consequently, a mother-in-law, who was herself healed by Christ himself, according to a reliable account in the Gospel text itself; just as indicated in some other fictional texts, less rigorous than this one.
This elegant and sensitive work provides the keys to how she came to be part of the group of Christ's followers, along with other women, since there was no discrimination between men and women among those close to Jesus of Nazareth. The text indicates that Jesus appeared specifically to her, which is not evangelically true, since she is the one who discovers this when she realizes that the body of the Crucified One, killed by order of the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Lucius Pontius Pilate, is not in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
However, this wonderful narrative is appreciated, as it rescues this interesting woman from the time of Christ. It is clear, from my humble perspective, that the Gnostics have done much harm to the figure of the Son of God. There is confusion regarding the character of Mary, as there are three possible ones: the woman from whom he casts seven devils, the adulteress defended by Christ, and, perhaps, Mary of Bethany.
