Diane Capitani

Love, Loss, and Abjection

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Melanie Baffes approaches the often confusing and misunderstood figure of Mary of Bethany through the interpretive lens of psychology/psychoanalytic theory, analyzing Mary's transformation in part through the work of Julia Kristeva and the theory of the development of selfhood, along with the Johannine idea of 'being born from above.' This is an exciting new look at the book of John for all scholars, but even more for those who have searched for a new way to look at Mary of Bethany, not simply as a shadow figure behind Martha, but as a transformed figure brought to new life, fully alive in faith.”