Mary’s Vision: Mary Magdalene and the Quest for Gender Equality

Mary’s Vision inquires whether an enlightened woman such as Mary Magdalene could achieve her goal of teaching about Jesus, and in the process advance gender equality, in a society where attempting this might result in imprisonment or death.

Who was Mary Magdalene?’’ has been debated for 2,000 years and yet remains unresolved. We know this enigmatic follower of Jesus was neither his wife nor a prostitute, but then who was she? Mary’s Vision offers readers a plausible and inspiring life story of this fascinating but often misrepresented protegee of Jesus of Nazareth.

This foremost female disciple of Jesus would want to tell others about him, but how could this be possible since women were forbidden to teach? An early proponent of gender equality, Mary Magdalene felt determined to inform others about Jesus regardless of the consequences.

Throughout Mary’s Vision, Dr. Pryde thoughtfully presents what Mary Magdalene’s life might have been like in paternalistic first-century Palestine, and what might have happened had she tried to achieve personal fulfillment and gender equality in such an unforgiving male-dominated society.