Mary Marston
Reeks: The Cullen Collection
George MacDonald
- A
- novel
- of
- one
- woman
- who
- transcends
- society’s
- concerns
- to
- stay
- true
- to
- her
- convictions—from
- the
- Victorian-era
- author
- of
- Malcolm.One
- of
- MacDonald’s
- lengthy
- and
- powerful,
- but
- not
- widely
- studied,
- novels,
- Mary
- Marston
- is
- the
- only
- book
- in
- the
- MacDonald
- corpus
- with
- a
- woman
- featured
- in
- the
- title
- role.
- As
- one
- of
- MacDonald’s
- many
- strong
- and
- memorable
- leading
- ladies,
- Mary
- exemplifies
- a
- life
- of
- dedication
- to
- Christ,
- self-sacrifice,
- and
- obedience
- to
- parents.
- We
- encounter
- here
- a
- touching
- portrayal
- of
- that
- earthly
- relationship
- so
- dear
- to
- MacDonald’s
- heart,
- because
- it
- so
- embodied
- man’s
- relationship
- with
- God—the
- relationship
- between
- fathers
- and
- their
- sons
- and
- daughters.
- Of
- the
- diverse
- range
- of
- characters
- found
- within
- the
- pages
- of
- this
- novel,
- Michael
- Phillips
- writes,
- “Taken
- together,
- their
- individual
- lives
- make
- fascinating
- reading.
- They
- are
- so
- diverse,
- sometimes
- so
- petty
- and
- foolish,
- their
- intertwining
- relationships
- so
- humorous
- at
- times
- .
- .
- .
- we
- observe
- human
- growth
- at
- work
- .
- .
- .
- always
- progressing
- in
- one
- direction
- or
- the
- other—sometimes
- straight,
- sometimes
- crooked.
- It
- is
- a
- complex
- character
- mix
- in
- many
- shades
- of
- gray
- .
- .
- .
- containing
- complicated
- character
- flaws
- without
- easy
- resolutions.
- I
- find
- it
- one
- of
- the
- most
- real
- array
- of
- characters
- in
- the
- MacDonald corpus.”
pro-mbooks3 : libris
