Title: Valiant Woman
Description: "Nineteenth-century America was rife with Protestant-fueled anti-Catholicism. Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez reveals how Protestants nevertheless became surprisingly and deeply fascinated with the Virgin Mary, even as her role as a devotional figure who united Catholics grew. Documenting the vivid Marian imagery that suffused popular visual and literary culture, Alvarez argues that Mary became a potent, shared exemplar of Christian womanhood around which Christians of all stripes rallied during an era filled with anxiety about the emerging market economy and shifting gender roles." --back cover.
Subjects: Mary, blessed virgin, saint, Christianity and literature, Symbolism, Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint, and Christian union, Influence, Christianity and art, Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)