Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Louis Simpson’s poem "The Man Who Married Magdalene" can be interpreted as an imaginative exploration of a marriage to the historical Mary Magdalene, one of the most enigmatic figures in Christian history. This reading adds a profound layer to the poem, deepening its exploration of themes like forgiveness, guilt, and the complexities of human relationships.

Mary Magdalene is often viewed as a symbol of repentance and redemption, yet in the poem, the man who marries her is unable to fully embrace this redemptive aspect of her story. Despite marrying her, he remains fixated on her past, unable to forgive her sins, even though she has presumably been forgiven by God. This tension between divine grace and human frailty—where God’s forgiveness is contrasted with the husband’s inability to move beyond her history—forms the core of the poem.

The physical descriptions of Magdalene—her "hollow, pale, and blue" hands and her "mouth like watered wine"—symbolize the toll that her past, compounded by her husband’s lack of forgiveness, has taken on her. Her weakened state reflects the emotional and spiritual burden she carries, intensified by the constant scrutiny and judgment from her husband. He cannot see past her former life, instead remaining obsessed with what he perceives as her continued connection to it.

The line "It was old harlotry, he guessed, / That drained her strength away" can be read as the husband’s belief that her past sins still haunt her, weakening her both physically and spiritually. This reflects his tragic misunderstanding of Magdalene’s true nature, as he remains unable to see her as a whole, redeemed person. Instead, he views her through the lens of societal judgments, unable to fully accept her as she is.

The poem’s conclusion, where death "grants the divorce," offers a poignant commentary on the ultimate liberation from judgment and earthly suffering. For Magdalene, death becomes the only escape from a life defined by her past in the eyes of her husband. After her death, the husband’s mourning, particularly his focus on the "loose behavior of the bone" and the "immodest thigh," suggests a lingering conflict within him—a struggle to reconcile his love for her with the societal and personal judgments he could never fully relinquish.

By imagining a marriage to the historical Mary Magdalene, Simpson amplifies the emotional and spiritual stakes of the poem. It becomes not just a tale of a troubled relationship, but a profound meditation on redemption, the power of societal judgment, and the painful human inability to fully embrace the grace that divine forgiveness offers. This interpretation enriches the poem, highlighting the tragic consequences of failing to see beyond a person’s past to their true, redeemed self.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...