Representational Theology of Exorcism and Co-inherence in the "Digby Mary Magdalene" and Elsewhere
Representational Theology of Exorcism and Co-inherence in the "Digby Mary Magdalene" and Elsewhere

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the visual strategies that the "Digby Play of Mary Magdalene" presents in terms of two important theological topoi: the penitential cleansing of the sins and the theosis. In the play as well as in the Scriptural source the first topos is connected to the miraculous exorcizing of the ‘seven devils’ by Christ, which act by itself implies diverse presentational opportunities. It, onthe other hand, corresponds with both the Biblical events of the resurrection of Lazarus and Christ and the corporal allegory of the Castle and the garden. The eclectic nature of the "Digby Play" considerably differs from the analogous scenes in the "N-Town Resurrection Plays" where the verbal descriptiveness presupposes less effort on the part of the purely visual representation. In an intriguing manner the co-inherence of Mary Magdalene with Christ mirrors the exorcist act. Judging from the dramatic matter, the term of co-inherence here differs somewhat from the traditional patristicterm of perichoresis and is akin to certain modern uses of the word. The spatial imagery of Mary Magdalene’s life in the (stage-)desert and her ascension to Heaven is also considered to be related to her final movement towards her theosis.

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