As a female religious symbol, Mary has come a significant way in the history of women and their treatment by the Church. Her role as a kind and obedient young woman with great faith who gave birth to Jesus and raised him was significantly overshadowed by the dogma that showed her as a religious celibate. Mary’s true faith was immaculately kept away, it was believed that she never consummated her marriage and managed to give birth to a child without her hymen’s disruption, which reinstated her perpetual virginity.
The purity of Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ was highly elevated during the Renaissance, with her playing an essential role in both art and culture. Thus, the social functions of women were also expected to align with the immaculate image of Mary and serve as perfect wives, mothers, and daughters. However, women’s part was very scarce, as they were supposed to be seen and not heard. It was expected that a woman was prim and proper and generally controlled by her father or husband. If allowed to speak her mind, it was common knowledge that men shaped women’s minds. Purity, as in the case with virgin Mary, was at the forefront of expectations for all classes of women. The teachings of the Church and the belief in the sanctity of Mary inadvertently taught women that must be perfect to be loved by God, which is why they were told to suppress their sexual desires with men, maintain their position within the social hierarchy, and obey the Church.
The persona of Mary as the Blessed Virgin as described in Scripture is important because it encouraged women to be fallible and faithful despite the oppression that they may face. Their bodies were in the private ownership of not themselves but rather their husbands or fathers, which is similar to how Mary’s body had God. Therefore, the worship of Mary as a saint was a fundamental component in shaping the expectations and the social roles pertinent to the women of the Renaissance.