The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown has become one of the most popular fiction novels of all time. It has appeared on the New York Times best-seller list for 36 weeks and has sold more than 7.5 million copies world wide. While The Da Vinci Code has many aspects of a great thriller, this does not explain this success, as Barbara Kantrowitz in Newsweek said "
Brown's masterful weaving of the medieval and the modern into a suspense-filled thriller would hold anyone's attention. For a while. But for four years?" A great deal of the success of The Da Vinci Code is that it has drawn on the social and cultural context of feminism and religion. Brown has appealed to women who are leaving mainstream Christianity as a reaction against the patriarchal nature of traditional religion. The writing of the Da Vinci Code has also coincided with the increase in a feministic reading of religion. While the ideas of Brown are heavily disputed whether or not they are true is not really important. This essay will look into how Brown has appealed to his audience through tapping into the social and cultural context of society.
Brown's novel re-evaluates the place of women in the early Christian church especially the role of Mary Magdalene. This re-identified role of women appeals greatly to many people who feel that the church is heavily patriarchal. Browns novel has reintroduced the theory that The Holy Grail is not a physical chalice, but a woman, Mary Magdalene, who married Christ and carried his bloodline. In the novel the truth about Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail were hidden by the Priory of Sion. It is explained that Mary Magdalene was vastly more important to Jesus than what has been taught, that is, she was much more than the first to witness the risen Jesus. For centuries it was taught by the church that Mary Magdalene was a forgiven whore because of the patriarchal nature of Christianity. "Mary Magdalene was remembered not as the "Apostle to the Apostles," as...