{"id":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","oai_identifier":"oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1133"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wilfrid-laurier/oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1133","repository":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","name":"Wilfrid Laurier University","base_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The making of the virgin: Mary in the 'Protevangelium of James'","abstract":"The Protevangelium of James is an important early Christian text narrating the birth, childhood and adolescence of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This thesis explores Mary's transformation from a secondary New Testament figure into the embodiment of sacred purity. The image of Mary in the Protevangelium of James is different than other early Christian representations, emphasizing both purity and a recapitulation with Eve. As a means to better understand Mary's purity in the narrative, I explore the theories of three scholars: Jacob Neusner, Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Mary Douglas. I conclude that Douglas's theories make the most sense for comprehending Mary's purity in the Protevangelium of James. Applying Douglas's view of purity to the narrative, I establish that it is the author's religious construction of reality that creates an entirely new perspective of Mary. These conclusions are not only important for the study of Mary in early Christianity, but also for contemporary perceptions of Mary. This new representation of Mary promotes both equality for women and a brighter picture of humanity.","abstract_html":"The Protevangelium of James is an important early Christian text narrating the birth, childhood and adolescence of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This thesis explores Mary's transformation from a secondary New Testament figure into the embodiment of sacred purity. The image of Mary in the Protevangelium of James is different than other early Christian representations, emphasizing both purity and a recapitulation with Eve. As a means to better understand Mary's purity in the narrative, I explore the theories of three scholars: Jacob Neusner, Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Mary Douglas. I conclude that Douglas's theories make the most sense for comprehending Mary's purity in the Protevangelium of James. Applying Douglas's view of purity to the narrative, I establish that it is the author's religious construction of reality that creates an entirely new perspective of Mary. These conclusions are not only important for the study of Mary in early Christianity, but also for contemporary perceptions of Mary. This new representation of Mary promotes both equality for women and a brighter picture of humanity.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Sherry Angela"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Religion & Culture / Religious Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michel Desjardins"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z","subjects":["Christianity","History of Christianity"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/134","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"source_record":{"url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_etdms&identifier=oai%3Ascholars.wlu.ca%3Aetd-1133","prefix":"oai_etdms"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michel Desjardins"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Sherry Angela"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2004-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Religion & Culture / Religious Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Christianity","History of Christianity"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/134","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1133/viewcontent/MQ96597.PDF"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The Protevangelium of James is an important early Christian text narrating the birth, childhood and adolescence of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This thesis explores Mary's transformation from a secondary New Testament figure into the embodiment of sacred purity. The image of Mary in the Protevangelium of James is different than other early Christian representations, emphasizing both purity and a recapitulation with Eve. As a means to better understand Mary's purity in the narrative, I explore the theories of three scholars: Jacob Neusner, Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Mary Douglas. I conclude that Douglas's theories make the most sense for comprehending Mary's purity in the Protevangelium of James. Applying Douglas's view of purity to the narrative, I establish that it is the author's religious construction of reality that creates an entirely new perspective of Mary. These conclusions are not only important for the study of Mary in early Christianity, but also for contemporary perceptions of Mary. This new representation of Mary promotes both equality for women and a brighter picture of humanity."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The making of the virgin: Mary in the 'Protevangelium of James'"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michel Desjardins"],"dc:creator":["Smith, Sherry Angela"],"dc:date":["2004-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["The Protevangelium of James is an important early Christian text narrating the birth, childhood and adolescence of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This thesis explores Mary's transformation from a secondary New Testament figure into the embodiment of sacred purity. The image of Mary in the Protevangelium of James is different than other early Christian representations, emphasizing both purity and a recapitulation with Eve. As a means to better understand Mary's purity in the narrative, I explore the theories of three scholars: Jacob Neusner, Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Mary Douglas. I conclude that Douglas's theories make the most sense for comprehending Mary's purity in the Protevangelium of James. Applying Douglas's view of purity to the narrative, I establish that it is the author's religious construction of reality that creates an entirely new perspective of Mary. These conclusions are not only important for the study of Mary in early Christianity, but also for contemporary perceptions of Mary. This new representation of Mary promotes both equality for women and a brighter picture of humanity."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/134","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1133/viewcontent/MQ96597.PDF"],"dc:subject":["Christianity","History of Christianity"],"dc:title":["The making of the virgin: Mary in the 'Protevangelium of James'"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Religion & Culture / Religious Studies"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z"}