VIRGIN MARY

This picture depicts the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus.While numerous scholars argue that Protestantism increased the married, mother's social standing, scholars such as Crawford suggest that Protestants' denigration of the Virgin Mary actually devalued maternity. Citing a popular belief amongst Catholics of this time period that a son could not deny his mother's wishes, she counter-argues that such beliefs placed maternity in high esteem within Catholic popular culture.

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