the Magdalen reading

the Magdalen reading

fiction

edward w pritchard

One of my favorite authors and pictures is "the Magdalen reading" by Rogier van der  Weyden at the National gallery in London. As a reader myself it's like the Platonic  form of Reading a book. How we take reading for granted. Over the last two thousand years since Mary Magdalen died how many persons could afford books before the invention of the printing press in Europe [ 1440 AD]. I saw the picture in London and I wouldn't take the money spent twenty five years ago on the trip to London to see the art among other things even if the money spent to fly to London and stay in expensive hotels could have grown at 12% interest and I now had the money stashed in my mattress .  I suppose I could certainly use the money however.  

Mary Magdalen is an interesting character.  Often  I wonder if there was any truth in the story of her and how many desperate woman in the past followed her profession because of circumstance. Currently I am reading "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky and in chapter two Sonia the drunks daughter becomes a prostitute in St Petersburg Russia to escape abject poverty and a life with no way out. A similar situation in modern America would be Dakota Skye working as a porn star to survive. I wrote about Dakota Skye before and I surely wish  should Jesus have been around he could have rescued Dakota Skye although like others I took prurient interest from her work. 

I would venture that 40% of Americans are two months paychecks from poverty should they loose their job, social security and all government benefits cease and new jobs become unavailable for a year or two. Don't look down on people in the bottom third in America; taking a historical perspective poverty often  happens to people if they are lucky enough to live a longer life. Currently medical bills in America are spiraling at a uncontrollable rate. and The fabric of America ideals is tearing as more and more persons act in non accord with the Bill of rights, constitution and our inherited British system of order, the Rule of Law and fair play. 

In addition to reading to understand persons and places of the past I often look at great Art to study past civilizations and ideas and ideals of those before us. My hope for my grand children is that America will stop the worship of material things and follow something similar to early christian ideals concerning the purpose of our existence.