Reworking the Crucifixion Story in Colm Tóibín’s Novel The Testament of Mary

Abstract

The use and reworking of literary, mythological and religious allusions have a significant role in the works of a contemporary Irish novelist, playwright, poet, and critic, Colm Tóibín. Intertextual features of his literary works reveal themselves in drawing upon certain motifs and passages, depiction of characters’ portraits, and filling the gaps left in the original sources. From this point of view, Tóibín’s 2012 novel, The Testament of Mary is of particular interest. As the novel opens, Mary is an old woman, living alone in Ephesus. The friends of her son look after her. The Testament of Mary is written in the first person, focusing on Mary’s memories and reflections on the events like the raising of Lazarus, the wedding at Cana, a miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding feast, and the Crucifixion. Considering this, the Virgin is outlined as the narrator of these biblical stories.

Among the stories presented from Mary’s perspective, the Crucifixion is of special relevance. It has a crucial role in the Christian tradition because it is regarded as the way of redeeming the world and allowing humankind to obtain salvation. Crucifixion is followed by the Resurrection, which creates hope for deliverance.

The paper seeks to analyse the properties of retelling of the Crucifixion episode in The Testament of Mary. Namely, it explores how this biblical story is perceived in the 21st century novel and what changes its certain aspects undergo after having appeared in fiction, in a different context.

The article also analyses the factors contributing to the changes undergone by certain aspects of the Crucifixion in Testament of Mary. One of them is bringing a female perspective to the novel. In the New Testament, the Crucifixion episode is recounted by the four evangelists — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Tóibín’s novel, however, the narrator of this story is Mary, whose life details and emotional state during or after the Crucifixion are not detailed in the New Testament. Tóibín’s adopting Mary’s perspective may be analysed as an attempt to fill these gaps. It also offers opportunities for studying a female point of view within the framework of feminist theology and its relevance in the contemporary world.

Tóibín’s reimagining the Virgin Mary is also among the factors transforming the biblical story of Crucifixion. In his novel, Mary is absolutely different from the Virgin depicted in the Christian tradition. She is portrayed as an ordinary human being, who has the same feelings and emotions as anybody else. She often attempts to escape from the harsh reality around her. Sometimes, she goes to a Temple, stares at the statue of Artemis, feels inspired by it, even speaks to her in whispers, etc. Tóibín depicts Mary as a mother, who witnesses the crucifixion of her own son and spends the rest of her life mourning the loss. At the same time, she cannot help thinking about how she has left her son to die alone to save herself. Towards the end of the novel, she even points it out that her son’s martyrdom was not worth it. She seems to be denying the idea of universal redemption, however, it may also be presumed that in saying so, she opposes turning her son into an abstract redeemer and glorifying the Crucifixion.

From the analysis above, it may be concluded that some aspects of the biblical story of Crucifixion undergo significant changes based on a different context, a new perspective, and Tóibín’s reimagination of Mary.

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