Marian Symbols in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series on the WB

by Michael P. Duricy, MA, STL

"Look, folks, you may be hot stuff when it comes to demonology or whatever, but when it comes to Mary and the Media, I'm the Slayer." [paraphrasing Cordelia in Halloween]

But seriously folks, I'd like to thank a number of my colleagues in the Buffademia for their assistance during the preparation of this paper.  From the University of Dayton: Erica Coe; Bill Fackovec; Emily Hicks; and Fred Jenkins.  And, from around the world: Rebecca Beirne; Tanya Cochran; Naomi Hetherington; John Pungente; and Jana Riess.  Many thanks, also, to the many other people who have helped me with this project in some way.

In 2000, I completed a thesis on The Virgin Mary in Film.  One of the areas studied was the brief but explicit use of Marian symbols in a great many films, most of which had very limited religious content.  From the frequency of examples over time and across national boundaries, I concluded that certain implications have become conventional for using these episodic Marian signifiers: indicator of death or possible death; comparative standard for measuring the virtue or vice of a character; opponent of the demons; analogue of the female romantic lead; dea ex machina; and Catholic or ethnic artifact.  There is one final convention involving the Marian symbol.  Brief, but explicit, Marian content is sometimes used to identify a symbolic Marian character.

I, personally, did not start watching BtVS until its fifth season on the WB, savoring the pleroma of the Buffyverse only through reruns.  Hence, I had absorbed the above hermeneutic from my general research before engaging myself with Buffy Studies.  Though casual observers may not have noticed [due to the brevity of their appearance], Marian symbols were overtly shown rather frequently in BtVS.  In my opinion, the purpose for using this episodic content corresponds to the above conventions, already long established by a history of use in the media of social communication.

Speaking of 'purpose', implies studying the intent of the author(s).  However, I have found little public commentary about my topic from the production team, and have had no success in privately contacting anyone involved.  In this regard, any help from my estimable colleagues in the international field of Buffy Studies would be much appreciated.

Still, I contend that we may safely assume that use of Marian symbols in BtVS operates from an awareness of the communicative norms established by convention in the industry.  The fact that Joss Whedon is a third-generation media professional bolsters this argument. 

Dramatic literature and performances routinely use brief and subtle devices to create mood or add depth.  Critical reviews note the presence and importance of ‘back stories,’ subtexts, and mise-en-scene.  The latter seems most relevant to our topic, as the episodic Marian symbolic content in BtVS most frequently involved shots of a Marian statue in the background, used much like a stage prop.  Other religious symbols (e.g. candles, angels, crosses, churches) likewise appear.

Also, there are some clear examples of the BtVS writers using brief background shots as subtle allusions.  In Lovers’ Walk, we see a brief shot of Angel reading Sartre’s La Nausee.  The novel shows Sartre’s main character struggling with impressions of the meaninglessness of human existence.  The brief, but explicit, shot of this book creates a linkage between Sartre’s protagonist, Antoine Roquentin, and Angel, who faces the same concerns.

A similar example, closer to our topic, was pointed out to me by Dr. Jana Riess, who noted that images in Faith’s room resemble icons of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.  This establishes a ‘linkage’ with Faith, who lives as if she idolizes Shiva, by her destructive acts.  This example establishes a precedent for the sort of communicative intent which may be expected from the appearance of visual props, including images of the Virgin Mary.

It can not be denied that communicative intent is involved in the appearance of the audible and visual content in any scripted drama.  Dialog is the result of conscious effort on the part of a screen writer.  Statues and medals are brought in from a prop room.  Even material which may accidentally be captured during filming, must still survive the critical eye of an editor or be lost on the cutting room floor.

In addition to these practical considerations, let me add that the effect of episodic visual content was studied at the theoretical level by Kuleshov and Pudovkin in the 1920s.  Kuleshov demonstrated the importance of what came to be known as the ‘Kuleshov effect,’ with his celebrated experiment in which the impassive face of Ivan Mozhukin, when juxtaposed with a bowl of soup, a corpse in a coffin and a child with a toy bear, appeared to register hunger, grief and joy respectively.  This effect is thought to occur even when the linkage occurs via extremely brief scenes.  The phrase ‘subliminal messages’ is commonly used to refer to these effects.

To further reduce any skepticism about the establishment of the above conventions as generally established norms, note a few examples of the above Marian conventions from some well-known films:

indicator of death or possible death

In Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest, the title character, while dying, clutches his Rosary.

analogue of the female romantic lead

An example from Leo McCarey’s 1956 An Affair to Remember:  While leading lady, Deborah Kerr, visits the grandmother of her romantic interest, Cary Grant, they spend time in the matriarch’s chapel.  As Kerr bows her head, covered with a wide-brimmed hat which suggests a halo, Grant alternates his gaze from Kerr to an image of the Virgin Mary, making clear the parallel the Director wishes to suggest.

Catholic or ethnic artifact

There are a number of films in which “Marian symbols” are shown in the presence of characters with distinct ethnic backgrounds, primarily Irish, Hispanic and Italian.  For example, in West Side Story, we know that Maria and her family are Catholic from the Marian statue in her bedroom; but this fact is subordinate to their being Hispanic, a point of major import to the plot.

comparative standard for measuring the virtue or vice of a character

In the classic 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame, Esmerelda, played by Maureen O’Hara in her screen debut, is awed and humbled by her first exposure to a statue of Mary in the great French Cathedral.  Jean Frollo, Chief Justice of Paris, played by Cedric Hardwicke, appears and orders her to leave as unworthy.  While O’Hara pours out her concerns before the statue with beaming face upturned, Hardwicke stares with downcast eyes at the object of his lust.  It is clear who wins the sympathy of the Virgin Mary, and of the audience.

dea ex machina [i.e. miraculously manufacturing a happy ending from difficult circumstances]

In the conclusion to the animated Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) from Disney studios, the famous Cathedral comes alive, rescuing the beset heroes by delivering the villain to the demons he has invoked in an earlier scene. 

opponent of the demons

The clearest example can be seen in Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973).  Early on, a number of eerie incidents subtly suggest the presence of unseen foes.  However, the demons make their presence felt by desecrating a statue of Mary in a Catholic parish and murdering a man the same night.  Having revealed themselves through their hatred of the Holy Virgin, the demons can no longer hide, and manifest themselves in a host of explicit ways through the remainder of the story.

to identify a symbolic Marian character

In Mick Garris’ made-for-television miniseries The Stand (1994) we have a Marian type in Mother Abigail Freemantle, played by Ruby Dee, a kind and devout elderly black woman who becomes spiritual mother to an ersatz community of survivors after a biological holocaust.  Like the Mary of cinematic convention, Abigail becomes an active opponent of her people’s wicked foes led by the demonic, Randall Flagg.  Even more suggestive, when Mother Abigail leaves the community to go on retreat, its leaders gather around a statue of Mary to plan their defense against the unprovoked aggression which they expect from their uncivilized foes.  In this sequence, Mother Mary and Mother Abigail are interchangeable!

Having presented the above conventions as hermeneutical apparatus, there is actually little left for me to add.  Applying this heuristic for analysis of BtVS, or any particular media product, follows a fortiori, for the most part.  It is a bit like Sherlock Holmes’ situation after explaining, in detail, the logical inferences which allowed him to know a great deal about a client at first sight.

Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances.  “Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labor, that he takes snuff, that he is a freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”

“How in the name of good fortune did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” he asked.  “It’s true as Gospel, for I began as a ship’s carpenter.”

“Your hands, my dear sir.  Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left.  You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.”...

“What about China?”

“The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China.  I have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature on the subject.  The trick of staining the fishes’ scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China.  When, in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter becomes even more simple.”

Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily.  “Well, I never!” said he.  “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all.”

“I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘Omne ignotum pro magnifico,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid.”

 [from The Red Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]

My poor little reputation as a Buffy Scholar may suffer a like fate.  Everything just said, has come from simple observation of overt details in many films, like Holmes’ monograph on tattoos.  Everything that now follows, is simple application of the catalogued norms to the subject at hand, much like the Chinese fish.  After presenting my findings in class, I always encourage my students to try it at home [pick any movie or TV show ... really!].

I am leaving some room for further research.  This presentation is limited to episodes first shown on the WB.  This allowed for comprehensive treatment since all were available on DVD as this paper was prepared.  An appendix could be done studying the UPN episodes as well as the Angel series [and any other spinoffs or movies to come].  I have ignored the 1992 pilot film completely [though I find that Kristy Swanson’s slayer has a charm all her own].  Simply from casual observation, I noted several instances of episodic Marian content in BtVS on UPN, but can recall none on AtS.  Also, given that these brief, but explicit, uses of Marian symbols is extremely widespread, and reflects broadly accepted conventions, it should be noticed in critical studies of media products like BtVS.  However, there has been next to nothing in the literature which I have examined [e.g. use google to search slayage.tv for the phrase ‘virgin mary’].

During the twelve episodes of the abbreviated first season, I found no content which could definitely be determined as Marian.  Xander wore a medal, probably religious, in many episodes which I could not identify [Any help?].  Perhaps, the image of Angel holding the drowned slayer in Prophecy Girl might be seen to resemble the famous Pieta of Michelangelo.  Buffy certainly played a Christ figure in that episode.  So Angel was the Marian figure?  Also, in Out of Mind, Out of Sight, Cordelia is elected as May Queen.  Though Catholics developed a custom of honoring Mary during the month of May (e.g. crowning her statues), the name of the month, crowning a girl as May-queen, dancing around the may-pole, etc, have nothing to do with Mary historically and traditionally. [cf. Attwater’s A Dictionary of Mary (1955)].  Given that Sunnydale High is a public school, we may assume the same of their May-queen customs.  However, many people (especially older Catholics) will certainly recall the Marian connotations of the term May-queen.  Since that is the case, it seems relevant to me that Buffy mentions holding the same office at her previous school.  She adds: “Well, we didn't call it 'May Queen', but we had the coronation, and the dance, and all that stuff. It was nice.”  Keep her comment in mind for later.

Season two offered a full complement of 24 episodes, and many instances in which a   Marian symbol was presented.  In the opening shot of the first episode, When She Was Bad, we see a statue in a cemetery which might represent the Virgin Mary.  This would be consistent with the aforementioned convention associating Marian symbols with death.

In Part I of What’s My Line?, the burial crypt of Josephus Du Lac contains another statue which also appears to be Marian.  Specifically, it represents an iconographic motif called Gerondissa [see right].  We are told: “He belonged to a religious sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican at the turn of the century.”  Du Lac’s Catholic ties make the Marian identification likely, even though a longer and clearer shot would be necessary for certainty.  Still, this would be another example in which Marian symbols are linked with death.  Of course, this use would also be consistent with the convention associating Marian symbols with Catholics.  However, in this case, Du Lac’s faith seems largely irrelevant.  It is the allusion to death that clearly seems relevant here.

This brings up an important point.  There is a certain layering, or interdependence related to the conventional uses of Marian symbols.  Rosaries, statues, Marian hymns, etc., are most commonly associated with Catholics, and, by extension, with people whose ethnic background derives from regions with large Catholic populations (e.g. Italy, Ireland).  Were Du Lac not identified as Catholic, it would make more sense to play the death angle with other readily recognized non-sectarian symbols (e.g. bag pipes, Amazing Grace, headstones, candles, etc.)

In Part II, explicit Marian symbols appear during action in an abandoned Catholic church.  Among many statues and symbols, we see a statue of the Madonna and Child.  Recall, of course, that episodic use of Marian symbols as Catholic identifier is one of the established conventions mentioned earlier.  Recall also, the layering effect above, for there are other factors at work here.

It is not so much that the action takes place in a Catholic church.  More to the point, it is taking place in a sacred place, the sort of environment that presents an antithesis to the performance of evil deeds.  The scenes of contract killings which are intercut with the baptism of Michael Corleone’s son in The Godfather are a powerful example of the same technique.

The Catholic connotations of the Marian symbol are merely the supportive background for the effect of another convention, one which establishes a comparative norm for viewing the virtue or vice of the actions of the characters.  This is supported by dialog from the episode.

Giles: “There are forty-three churches in Sunnydale? (pulls out a roll of mints) That seems a little excessive.” (tears off some wrapping)

Willow: “It's the extra evil vibe from the Hellmouth. Makes people pray harder.”

There is still more important Marian content in this episode.  At the front of the church, behind the altar, is a stained glass image of Mary portrayed as the Woman of Rev. 12 [see left]. The Scripture goes as follows: “And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, [emphasis mine] and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” [Apoc. 12:1].

This particular image is important for several reasons.  It is of special importance to Catholics in Spain, as a consequence of the history of their religious wars with Islamic invaders.  In Rev. 12, the woman, sometimes accommodated to Mary by Catholics, is at war with evil forces, diabolically evil forces: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he pursued the woman ...” [Rev. 12:13].

I believe that this image was chosen in order to represent the milieu of Southern California, which was strongly influenced by Catholic missionaries from Spain during its founding.  Other images which recall these missionary roots, appear in many episodes.  For example, the monks opposing Glory [aka Glorificus] are dressed as Franciscan friars. 

What all this suggests is that, in the first instance, the Marian symbols shown are an ethnic artifact deriving from the Spanish Catholic heritage of Southern California.  From there, the other conventional connotations appear as layerings atop this foundation.

Yet, one needn’t go far to find other layers.  In this very stained-glass image of Rev. 12, we also see the convention of Mary as enemy of the demons [and Sunnydale is, quite literally, full of them!].  With the use of this image, the writers show their awareness of this convention and their willingness to exploit it.  This will play a very important role in analyzing the meaning of the show as we proceed.

As a final comment on this episode, note that in the concluding scene, our heroine meets with Kendra, her colleague.  Buffy is wearing a necklace of beads which holds a cross.  Could this be a Rosary?  With all the other Marian images in this episode, why doubt it?

In Surprise, a small Marian statue is visible in Angel’s crypt.  Like the statue in Du Lac’s burial chamber, this image recalls the conventional association of Marian symbols with death.  Also, in this episode, we again see Buffy wearing a cross hanging from a rosary-like chain of beads.  She wears a similar necklace in Go Fish as well.

In Part I of Becoming, Angelus and Drusilla meet in church [apparently Catholic or Anglican].  There are religious statues, though I could not clearly identify any as Marian.

However, there is a scene in which Angelus impersonates a priest and hears Drusilla’s confession.  He cruelly tries to drive her to despair, telling her that she is surely headed for damnation: “Yes! You're a spawn of Satan. All the Hail Marys [emphasis mine] in the world aren't going to help. The Lord will use you and smite you down. He's like that.”  Like the church in What’s My Line II, this sacred setting, including the sacramental event and the reference to prayer, present a standard of goodness against which the depth of Angelus’ wickedness becomes apparent by contrast.  The above dialog is the only audible Marian content which I noted in the series.

In Part II of Becoming, after mortally stabbing Angel, Buffy steps back slowly; and we briefly see a partial view of a stone statue behind her, adorned by a blue sash.  We are already familiar with the appearance of Marian statues in the crypts and cemeteries frequented by vampires in the series.  In this case, it appears that we are briefly shown one of Our Lady of Lourdes [see right]. And with this episode, we come to the conclusion of the second season

Season Three presented a full 24 episode contingent.  In Revelations, we see yet another Marian statue in a cemetery, this one in the style known as Adolorata (i.e. Our Lady of Sorrows--see left).

In this episode, we also see Cordelia wearing a medal, which might be a religious medal (e.g. ‘miraculous medal’).  Perhaps, it is the same medal worn by Xander in previous episodes, making it’s way to Ms. Chase as a consequence of their romantic trysts.

In The I In Team episode, we see a Marian statue inside the burial crypt in which Spike resides [see right].  It is shown again in the episode which follows, Goodbye Iowa and also in Restless. 

Just more of the same, Marian symbols near the dead or dying.  It appears to represent the standard iconographical motif of the Adolorata, or perhaps, merely an orante, with hands folded in prayer.

In season 5, the first definite Marian content appears in Fool for love.  On the lam abroad, Spike and Drusilla break up in front of a large statue of the Virgin Mary [at left].  From the caption, we see they are located in Latin America, a region inhabited by many Catholics.  So we have another example of the conventional usage of a Marian symbol as a Catholic and/or Ethnic identifier.  Atop this foundation, there may also be a secondary meaning which identifies the female romantic lead, in this case, Drusilla.