Abstract

Colm Tóibín’s latest novella, The Testament of Mary (2012), forcefully critiques the process through which the Gospels were compiled by interrogating their patriarchal origin. By placing Mary in the centre of the narrative, Tóibín simultaneously gives voice to the previously silent icon of the Virgin Mary and decentres the traditional Catholic narrativisation of the life of Christ. In what follows I will discuss how The Testament of Mary addresses our contemporary moment through the subversive way it revisits a foundational myth, and how, by giving voice to the voiceless, it tackles the unspeakable nature of a traumatic event.

How to Cite:

Cicero, K. R., (2017) “The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín”, Dandelion: Postgraduate Arts Journal and Research Network 8(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/ddl.365