Dr. Helal has taught courses on writing and English literature for several years, and has presented and published many papers and articles on women's writing. In this essay, Helal analyzes the curious discrepancy between the feminist message of the novel's theories about Christian history and the misogynist portrayal of its heroine, Sophie Neveu.

Mary Magdalene is arguably the true hero of The Da Vinci Code. She is the Holy Grail, the secret kept by the Priory of Sion, the figure to whom the main character bows in reverence in the final chapter, the "woman's voice … the wisdom of the ages … whispering up from the chasms of the earth" in the final sentence. Indeed, the success of The Da Vinci Code in seducing readers to believe her role is more central in Christianity than it seems is due in part to Brown's reverence for this forgotten female figure...