I believe that the "conception" through the ear is also indicative of
Mary's status as a "right reader" or recto lecto (hearing and reading being
part and parcel of the same thing in medieval terms - reading aloud) , and
allied with her depiction with a book, teaching Christ to read, etc. in
medieval art. She - the complete opposite of Eve - was able to perform the
perfect exegesis of the word of God in the fullest sense; making it
manifest in human form. Pamela Sheingorn has written on this and related
subjects in iconography, I believe. Terry
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