Those who find here no clear account of a virginal conception argue that Mary’s objection is no more than a conventional literary device that is meant to prompt the next stage of a dialogue.4 In terms of any verisimilitude in the narrative, her question makes little sense. She has not, of course, been told that there will be anything extraordinary about the manner of her conception. She is betrothed to Joseph, as the narrator has made clear (1.27), and therefore should be expected to think that, although they have not been intimate yet, intercourse will take place and the child who is to be
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