for women, one of the most popular figures to imitate was the virgin mary. margaret r. miles provides a thorough analysis of this influence-through-images of iconography and art in her article "the virgin's one bare breast". the bare breast symbolized nourishment in a time of famine. depicting the virgin mary nursing the infant christ encouraged women to aspire to provide the same nourishment for their own families and community. miles goes on to explain that, although women were encouraged to strive to emulate the many virtues of the virgin, they must also be aware that one could never fully achieve such a standard. similarly, men were taught that they should follow in the image of christ, which was believed to be more attainable.