There can be no doubt that Mary Magdalene is an important figure in cultural, and more specifically religious, histories. More notably, she is an important female in this realm of history. Different cultural histories have provided themselves with their own my

Why lowtt ye nat low to my lawdabyll presens,

Whanne I fare fresly and fers to the feld,

Obedyenly to obbey me wythowt offense?

Myche pepul be comfortyd be your benyng afyavuns.

Mary explains her emotional anguish in lines 444-445, giving away her period of emotional weakness to Lechery, "For my father I have grett heynesse- Whan I remembyr, my mynd waxit[h] mort" (Pg. 202). She would be emotionally distraught over the loss of her father and in a psychologically venerable state.

The second part of the play begins with Mary's return to the castle, her home. As she adjusts herself to a life of penance, she dedicated her life to the ministry of Jesus and tries to teach his gospel. In this section of the play the audience witnesses two different miracles involving Mary Magdalene. This is where the story of her brother, Lazarus begins. The gospel tells us that Christ has two friends named Mary and Martha whose brother, Lazarus, was seriously ill. Both sisters were afraid he would die, which he eventually did. Before his death his sisters sent word to Jesus to ask him to come heal Lazarus. Jesus loved Martha and Mary " at whose beckoniong Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead" (Jansen, Pg. 33) and since it was his calling he then set out on the journey. When he arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. When Jesus approached the town, Martha came out to meet him. "During the ensuing conversation, she confesses to her belief in the resurrection of the dead, and also in him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah", (Haskins, Pg. 19). This is demonstrated at lines 885-888 of the play's text, "Ye, forsoth, the Prynsse of blysch! I beleve in cryst the Son of Sapyens, Whyche wythowt eynd ryngne shall he to redemyn us freell from ower iniquite!" (Coldewey, Pg.215-216). At line 911 of the play the story of Lazarus concludes with Lazarus rising and his blessing of God for his salvation, "A, my Makar, my Savyor! Blyssyd mott thou be!" (Coldewey, Pg. 216). At first, Martha thought Jesus meant he would rise at the resurrection of all believers at the end of the age. She had no idea Jesus had come to raise Lazarus from the dead that very day making this miracle more dramatic than it already was. Christ then bids Lazarus to come forth from the grave. To early Christians, the story of the raising of Lazarus represented Christ's own death and resurrection. This is a famous moment in the New Testament and Haskins credits this to be the subject of many paintings in the early years of Christianity (Pg. 21). The miracle of Lazarus being saved was only possible due to Mary's penance in the first part of the play. The timing of this death also gives way for Mary's ministry.

" Heyl, lady most laudabyll of alyauvns!

The third and final section of the play begins on page 249 of the Coldewey text. Thirty years have passed since the time of Mary's last scene, line 2054 reads: "This thirty wyntyr this hath byn my selle" (Pg. 250). Mary rejects the material world and lives in a small cell at the end of the play. Her castle is gone as well as the rest of her worldly possessions. Mary has forgone material happiness and comfort for religious well being.

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Approximate Word count = 3695
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)