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St. Perpetua

St. Perpetua. Why Sex and Gender Matter . Life and Background. Young woman (22 years old) New mother Well born Arrested, tried and imprisoned. Her Execution. She was probably killed on March 7 th in 203 Part of the birthday entertainment for Emperor Septimius Severus’s son

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St. Perpetua

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  1. St. Perpetua Why Sex and Gender Matter

  2. Life and Background • Young woman (22 years old) • New mother • Well born • Arrested, tried and imprisoned

  3. Her Execution • She was probably killed on March 7th in 203 • Part of the birthday entertainment for Emperor Septimius Severus’s son • He was 14 at the time

  4. What was Perpetua’s Crime? • Charged with civil disobedience • Condemned to fight wild beasts in the Roman amphitheater at Carthage

  5. Roman Carthage

  6. The Text • Prison diary • Simple language • Modern scholars accept that this is a first person narrative done by Perpetua

  7. The Structure of the Text • Perpetua writes of her arrest, trial, and visions while in prison • Someone else (author unknown) adds a introduction, an eyewitness report of her death, and a vision of another martyr named Saturus

  8. Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas

  9. Gender, Identity & Status I • Shift from home (women’s realm) and family to public martyr • Perpetua is referred to as “domina” yet is her status as a wife relevant?

  10. Gender, Identity and Status II • Perpetua’s transformation into a man coincides with: • The end of her lactation • Her movement into the arena (world of men)

  11. What is remarkable about this text? • She becomes the legal advocate for herself • She intercedes on behalf of others • At this time, women were denied the right to represent others in legal affairs

  12. Where did Roman authority normally come from at this time? • The gods • The magistrates • The paterfamilias

  13. Vision #1 • Vision of martydom (4) • “Domina soror, you are now in such honor that you may ask whether there will be a martyrdom or a stay of execution?” (4.1)

  14. Vision #2 • Vision of Dinocrates, her brother, who died of skin cancer (7-8) • Her brother is disfigured and unable to drink water • She sees him healed and able to drink from a golden cup after she prays for him

  15. Vision #3 • Vision of gladiatorial victory (10) • Enters the arena • Becomes a man • Wins the fight

  16. What is the purpose of these visions? • In between the scenes where Perpetua challenges familial and legal authority • Visions show her acting independently • Interceding on behalf of others

  17. Perpetua’s Conviction • Her refusal to submit to her father is considered a disgrace (3.1) • “Father, do you see that thing lying there – let’s call it a vase, a little pitcher, or some such other thing?” • Perpetua asks, “It cannot be called by any other name, can it?” • “So, I can not say I am other than what I am, a Christian.”

  18. Perpetua and Her Father • Claims her identity • Uses term “urseolus” or “little pitcher” • Funeral urn, but also symbolizes her female body and her mortality • Reversal of gender roles (6.2-6)

  19. Perpetua in Court • Her father appears before her with his infant son in his arms • You would expect this scene to be reversed • Weeping wife and children can evoke pity from judges

  20. Perpetua and the Prison Warden • Uses humor and legal language to assert her authority • Prison warden is shamed into treating Perpetua better • She tells him they need to be fattened up if they are to be the entertainment for the crowd

  21. Roman Women and Legal Authority I • How does one gain honor in Roman society? • A man of authority fulfills his duties with decorum • Chooses his own destiny

  22. Roman Women & Legal Power II • The crowd lowers their eyes to Perpetua when she enters the amphitheater • Her procession into the amphitheater is given a triumphal quality • She controls the circumstances of her death

  23. Roman Women & Legal Power III • “We came into this of our own free will so that our liberty would not be taken away • We have legally contracted to forfeit our lives rather than perform any such pagan rites” • Injustice acknowledged justice”

  24. Perpetua’s Authority, Part I • Perpetua and the other martyrs refuse to wear pagan costumes into the amphitheater • Spectators are alternately astonished and horrified

  25. Perpetua’s authority, Part II • “We may think of status as static, but but honor was, in ancient Rome, forever open to contest, enmeshed in a chain of challenge and response. It had to be tested; it required an agony and a spectacle” • Carlin Barton, The Gladiator and the Monster

  26. Perpetua’s Authority, Part III • Terrible death is better than being a slave under fairly decent conditions • Choses death in a public and conspicuous way

  27. Rejection of Traditional Roles • Rejected birth father • Rejected husband • Madonna/Child Theme is reversed

  28. Conclusion, Part I • Dependence on male relatives • Dependence on church authority • Replaced by Perpetua’s confidence in her own abilities

  29. Conclusion, Part II • In the end, Perpetua behaves in the arena (the public sphere) as is expected for an upper class woman of that time

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