Tóibín's tour de force of imagination and language is a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed. This woman whom we know from centuries of paintings and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient, worshipful mother of Christ becomes a tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or Antigone. Mary judges herself ruthlessly (she did not stay at the foot of the Cross until her son died - she fled, to save herself), and her judgment of others is equally harsh. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God nor that his death was "worth it" nor that the "group of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye," were holy disciples. They are her keepers, providing her with food and shelter and visiting her regularly. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel. In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son's crucifixion. She knows the versions of the stories the men are writing are based on what they want to be true, not the truth.Provocative, haunting and indelible, Colm Tóibín's portrait of Mary presents her as a solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. Later, Mary was angered by the men when they insisted that she had been at the site of the crucifixion when Jesus had been taken from the cross and that she had watched as the body was prepared for burial. Fearing for her life, Mary left Jerusalem before the crucifixion was finished. ISBN-13: 9781451692389 Summary Colm Toibin’s portrait of Mary presents her as a solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. She had seen a man who was pointing her out to a man known as "the strangler." Frightened, she told her guide that they were in danger. The Testament of Mary Colm Toibin, 2012 Scribner 386 pp. Mary’s deepest regret from the day of her son’s death is that she did not stay with him until he died. Perhaps, he had experienced a frightening revelation that he was not comfortable sharing with anyone. When Mary saw Lazarus return from the dead, he appeared to be someone who seemed to be steps from dying again. Mary describes an unnatural feel surrounding both instances. Mary’s narrative includes the stories of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and Jesus’ act of changing water into wine. She also wishes that he had paid more attention to her warnings when she tried to tell him at the wedding in Cana that he needed to come home. She wishes she had paid more attention to the company he kept. She senses the men’s frustration when she tells them only the details that she knows to be true.Īs Mary thinks through her son’s life, she wonders what she could have done differently to save him. Mary remembers the cruelty, the viciousness, and the confusion of that day. She senses that they are suspicious of her and are impatient with her reluctance to cooperate. She does not like the men, even though they do take care of her needs. Two of Jesus’ followers visit Mary regularly to discuss the events of the crucifixion. When Mary learns that the men who followed Jesus believe that he died to redeem the world, she tells them that she believes the world is not worth the sacrifice. As Mary tries to come to terms with her own grief and regrets, she still lives with the fear that she will be killed because of her son’s actions. Mary’s story is written in the months after the crucifixion when Jesus’ followers are questioning her for information to write stories of Jesus’ life and death. As such, page numbers could vary on different devices.Ĭolm Tóibín’s novel The Testament of Mary gives a gut-wrenching look at the crucifixion of Jesus from the fictional viewpoint of Mary, his mother.
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NOTE: All citations refer to the Kindle version of The Testament of Mary.