Mary Magdalene’s image undergoes a profound change in the Western imaginary of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Whereas tradition has always clearly dissociated the ‘sexed’ sinner from the ‘asexual’ saint, contemporary literature brings forth a character who retains her femininity, her sexuality, after the crucial scene of conversion. Beyond mere acceptance, Mary Magdalene’s femininity constitutes the source of her belief, of her completely understanding the premise of Christ’s destiny. Because she is a woman, Magdalene becomes, under the pen of modern writers, Christ’s favourite disciple, her perfect spiritual heiress. This re-definition of the character can be explained by various social, cultural or religious changes, which occurred immediately after the Second World War: the view of Western society on womanhood and sexuality, the discovery of various Gnostic manuscripts, the appearance of feminist theology and, in a less scientific field, the ‘matriarchal’ rereading of Christ’s message, advanced by many essay writers in the past 20 years