Historic Figures
WITH THE NAME MARY
Mary Cassatt was a highly successful American Impressionist artist, whose usual subject was women, especially mothers and children. Born to an upper-middle class family, her privileged childhood included extensive travel and a sophisticated education. Still, it was a time that discouraged independence and careerism in women, especially in the arts. Mary Cassatt moved to France and, although she was not allowed entry to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts due to her gender, she studied with their masters and also self taught by copying the great works in the museums. Highly influenced by Edgar Degas, she became associated with the Impressionistic Movement, although in later years she moved away from any labels. She spent most of her life in France, being awarded the Legion d’honeur in 1904, and having had much of her work exhibited in the prestigious Paris Salon. Mary Cassatt made the decision early on not to marry and become a mother, knowing that she could not thus carry on her life’s work. Ironically, it is for those very tender depictions of mothers and children that she is best known today.
Queen Mary I of England was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; she succeeded her half-brother, Edward VI, to the throne. She restored the establishment of Roman Catholicism and was known as “Bloody Mary†for her cruel prosecution of Protestant dissenters, including the burning at the stake of hundreds. The divorce of Mary’s parents essentially deemed her illegitimate at the age of 17, and she was stripped of her title and goods and right to the throne. Upon Edward VI’s early death, their cousin, Lady Jane Grey, was briefly installed as queen, however, popular sentiment for Mary assured her own ascension to the throne (as well as the execution of poor Lady Jane). Then the rampage began and the forcible restoration of Catholicism as the religion of the land was begun. In 1554, Mary married Philip II of Spain, a union which failed to produce a child. She seemed to be in love with him, but such was not the case with him. Upon her death at age 42, he wrote, damningly: “I felt a reasonable regret for her death.†Others did not. Elizabeth I became queen and Protestantism was swiftly reintroduced to the land.
Mary Queen of Scots was the only living (legitimate) child of King James V of Scotland when he died, leaving the throne to her at the ripe old age of 6 days – talk about a steep learning curb! Spending her childhood and girlhood mostly in France while Scotland was under regent rule, Mary married the Dauphin Francis of France and was briefly Queen Consort of France until his death. Returning to Scotland as widow and being installed as Catholic queen of a largely Protestant Scotland in 1561, Mary married Lord Darnley in 1565. This, however, was an unhappy marriage (producing one son, James), and Darnley was found murdered in the garden of his home after it was destroyed by an explosion in 1567. Suspicion fell on Mary, especially after she married the Earl of Bothwell shortly afterward, who was largely believed to have been responsible for Darnley’s murder. Mary was then imprisoned by the Protestant lords and forced to abdicate her throne to her son, who, not quite as precocious as his mother at these things, was an old guy of one year. Seeking refuge from her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, Mary was shuttled from castle to castle while in custody until, at the age of 44, she was executed for the crime of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth.
Queen Mary II of England is the other half of the famous “William and Mary†team, who ruled England, Scotland and Ireland together from 1689 until her death in 1694, after which William became sole ruler. Mary was the daughter of James II, who converted to Catholicism during her childhood. James became king upon the death of his brother, Charles II, and the new king’s religion sparked revolution. Mary, being married to William of Orange of the Netherlands, was invited to return to England with him and overthrow her father. It was said that this caused her great consternation – however – she did it. James II fled the country and Mary and William ruled happily ever after. They even found the time to endow the College of William and Mary in the colonies in 1693. Mary and William were childless; she died of smallpox and her husband ruled until 1702, after which Mary’s sister, Anne, ascended to the throne.
Mary Todd Lincoln was the wife of perhaps the most beloved president in American history, Abraham Lincoln, and served as first lady of the land from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He was beloved – she was not. Poor Mary’s reputation has suffered as much since her death as before. Maligned as a vain clotheshorse, a spendthrift, and a neurotically selfish woman, she is often depicted as a scourge of the sainted Abe, responsible for just about every ill he suffered short of the assassination. The truth, of course, lies closer to a mundane, albeit crushing, reality. Mary Todd was born into a rich Kentucky family and was educated accordingly. Her marriage to Lincoln was seen by her family as a social faux-pas, but she stubbornly stood by him and relinquished her strong Southern roots in favor of supporting him through the Civil War. As a mother, she had the unenviable fate of outliving three of her four sons. Son “Eddie†died at the age of four of tuberculosis; “Willie†died of typhoid fever at the age of twelve; “Tad†died (probably of pneumonia) at the age of eighteen. Only Robert outlived her, and he had her declared incompetent and confined to a mental institution. As a wife, she suffered the trauma of having her husband violently killed right beside her. As a woman in general, she was a victim of various ailments, including depression and the dreaded migraine headaches that afflicted her for years. She even attempted suicide at one point. Mary spent her final years in the home of her sister, as her health grew steadily worse. She died at age sixty-three.
Mary Magdalene has the distinction of being the second-most well-known woman in the New Testament, after, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is honored as a saint by many Christian denominations. Because of the proliferation of the use of the name “Mary†in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene got the probably erroneous reputation early on of being a “bad†girl. This portrayal was furthered by early church fathers and emphasized by religious art over the centuries. There is, in fact, no evidence to associate her with the woman Mary who was the acknowledged sinner, but the confusion took hold and actually seems to have imbued her with a certain sympathetic identity. Who needs another saint, anyway? In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene is credited with three pretty big events: she witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, his burial, and then the empty tomb from which Jesus rose after three days. These are solemn occasions, and they are unconnected to the stories of the woman from whom seven demons were exorcised, the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, or the woman who dried her own tears with her sensuous long red hair. Contemporary Gnostic accounts go so far as to depict her as Jesus’ most beloved apostle who is called upon to spread his word, thus sparking an outrage of jealousy from the Apostles, particularly Peter. Who knows where legend ends and lies begin? Whatever her own truth, Mary Magdalene lives on today in a special aura, and we welcome the solicitude of one who was, perhaps, just like the rest of us – flawed and yet - ever striving.
Mary Magdalene (Maria Magdalena) has the distinction of being the second-most well-known woman in the New Testament, after, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is honored as a saint by many Christian denominations. Because of the proliferation of the use of the name “Mary†in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene got the probably erroneous reputation early on of being a “bad†girl. This portrayal was furthered by early church fathers and emphasized by religious art over the centuries. There is, in fact, no evidence to associate her with the woman Mary who was the acknowledged sinner, but the confusion took hold and actually seems to have imbued her with a certain sympathetic identity. Who needs another saint, anyway? In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene is credited with three pretty big events: she witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, his burial, and then the empty tomb from which Jesus rose after three days. These are solemn occasions, and they are unconnected to the stories of the woman from whom seven demons were exorcised, the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, or the woman who dried her own tears with her sensuous long red hair. Contemporary Gnostic accounts go so far as to depict her as Jesus’ most beloved apostle who is called upon to spread his word, thus sparking an outrage of jealousy from the Apostles, particularly Peter. Who knows where legend ends and lies begin? Whatever her own truth, Mary Magdalene lives on today in a special aura, and we welcome the solicitude of one who was, perhaps, just like the rest of us – flawed and yet - ever striving.
Mary Magdalene has the distinction of being the second-most well-known woman in the New Testament, after, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is honored as a saint by many Christian denominations. Because of the proliferation of the use of the name “Mary†in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene got the probably erroneous reputation early on of being a “bad†girl. This portrayal was furthered by early church fathers and emphasized by religious art over the centuries. There is, in fact, no evidence to associate her with the woman Mary who was the acknowledged sinner, but the confusion took hold and actually seems to have imbued her with a certain sympathetic identity. Who needs another saint, anyway? In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene is credited with three pretty big events: she witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, his burial, and then the empty tomb from which Jesus rose after three days. These are solemn occasions, and they are unconnected to the stories of the woman from whom seven demons were exorcised, the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, or the woman who dried her own tears with her sensuous long red hair. Contemporary Gnostic accounts go so far as to depict her as Jesus’ most beloved apostle who is called upon to spread his word, thus sparking an outrage of jealousy from the Apostles, particularly Peter. Who knows where legend ends and lies begin? Whatever her own truth, Mary Magdalene lives on today in a special aura, and we welcome the solicitude of one who was, perhaps, just like the rest of us – flawed and yet - ever striving.
Mary Magdalene has the distinction of being the second-most well-known woman in the New Testament, after, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is honored as a saint by many Christian denominations. Because of the proliferation of the use of the name “Mary†in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene got the probably erroneous reputation early on of being a “bad†girl. This portrayal was furthered by early church fathers and emphasized by religious art over the centuries. There is, in fact, no evidence to associate her with the woman Mary who was the acknowledged sinner, but the confusion took hold and actually seems to have imbued her with a certain sympathetic identity. Who needs another saint, anyway? In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene is credited with three pretty big events: she witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, his burial, and then the empty tomb from which Jesus rose after three days. These are solemn occasions, and they are unconnected to the stories of the woman from whom seven demons were exorcised, the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, or the woman who dried her own tears with her sensuous long red hair. Contemporary Gnostic accounts go so far as to depict her as Jesus’ most beloved apostle who is called upon to spread his word, thus sparking an outrage of jealousy from the Apostles, particularly Peter. Who knows where legend ends and lies begin? Whatever her own truth, Mary Magdalene lives on today in a special aura, and we welcome the solicitude of one who was, perhaps, just like the rest of us – flawed and yet - ever striving.
Namesake of Madeleine and spelling variations.
