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Is The Da Vinci Code True?
- Journal of Religion and Popular Culture
- University of Toronto Press
- Volume 25, Number 1, Spring 2013
- pp. 34-48
- Article
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The immense popularity of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code may be traced to several factors, among them good suspense writing, an intriguing mystery, and popular anti-Catholicism. This essay, however, focuses on its themes of masculine conspiracy and misogyny. In the widespread folktale “The Swan Maiden,” a man subdues and weds a mythical female. Her eventual murder of her husband and escape into freedom exposes underlying tensions between the genders. This essay compares the plot of The Da Vinci Code with a “Swan Maiden” myth from New Guinea, where men’s fear of women has led to the creation of secret men’s societies. That similar themes are found in an American best-seller and a myth from Melanesia indicates that they are widespread if not universal masculine concerns.