Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=oup.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the
scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that
promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Oxford University Press and The Past and Present Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve
and extend access to Past & Present.
http://www.jstor.org
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA
Men surrenderthem their souls, women their bodies . . . and for the
samereasonfor whichthe spectatorsglorifythem, they also degradeand
belittlethem . . . Whatperversity.They love whom they punish.They
depreciatewhomthey value . . .
There was . . . that womanwho came out of the theatreand returned
possessedby a demon.Whenthe uncleanspiritwas beingexorcized,and
was pressed with the accusationthat he had entered a woman who
believed,he replied'Andquitejustlytoo, sinceI foundher in my place'.1
On the morningof 7 March2032a smallgroupof youngwomen
andmenwereled fromthe prisonwheretheyhadbeenincarcer-
ated to the arenaof the amphitheatre
at Carthage.3
They were
1Tertullian,De spectaculis,22, 26.
2 The datesmust remainconjectural.They are the best that can be derivedfrom
a range of possiblealternatives;the day and month are probable,the year is a
reasonableconjecture.For the arguments,see H. Leclercq,"Perpetueet Felicite",
Dictionnaired'archeologiechretienneet de liturgie,xiv (1939),cols. 393-444,at col. 420;
P. Monceaux,Histoirelitterairede l'Afriquechretiennedepuisles originesjusqu'al'invasion
arabe, 7 vols. (Paris, 1901-23;repr. Brussels, 1966), i, Tertullian et les origines,
pp. 71-2. The texts I have used are those as edited by C. I. M. I. van Beek, Passio
SanctarumPerpetuaeet Felicitatis, vol. i, TextumGraecumet Latinumad fidem codicum
MSS (Nijmegen,1936;repr. 1956).I havealsobenefitedfromthe text andcomment-
aryprovidedby J. ArmitageRobinson,The Passionof S. Perpetua(TextsandStudies,
Contributions to BiblicalandPatristicLiterature,1.2, Cambridge,1891;repr.Nend-
eln, 1967),and especiallythat by Pio Franchide' Cavalieri,La Passio SS. Perpetuae
et Felicitatis(RomischeQuartalschriftfur christlicheAlterthumskundeundfur Kirchenges-
chichte,v, Supplementheft, Rome, 1896).The Passio existsin a Latin(L) anda Greek
(G) version.The relationshipbetweenthe two has been intenselydebatedsince the
discoveryof the latterin the springof 1889 by RendelHarrisin the Libraryof the
Conventof the Holy Sepulchreat Jerusalem: J. R. HarrisandS. K. Gifford,The Acts
of the Martyrdomof Perpetua and Felicitas: The Original Greek Text (London,1890).
The mattercannotbe discussedat lengthhere. My positionis thatthe Latinversion
is manifestlythe original.The Greekversionis a "translation" of this ("translation",
that is, in the sense currentat the time the versionwas made:not a word-for-word
translation, but ratherwhatwe mightcalla "closeversion"withadditionsandglosses
madeby the translator).
3 On the problemof the location,see H. Slim, "Recherches preliminairessur les
amphitheatres romainsde Tunisie",in A. Mastino(ed.), L'Africa romana:Atti del I
convegnodi studio Sassari, 16-17 dicembre1983 (Sassari,1984),pp. 129-65.Thereare
casesof cities havingdoubleamphitheatres (p. 135 n. 15) but there is, as yet, only
oneamphitheatre attestedforCarthage: see D. I. Bomgardner, "TheCarthage Amphi-
theater:A Reappraisal", Amer.3tl. Archaeology,xciii (1989),pp. 85-103.The problem
stems partlyfrom the accountin the Passio itself which nowhereexplicitlystates
wherethe trialandexecutionstookplace.Fromcircumstantial detail,historianshave
arguedthatthe localemust be Carthage,thoughthe only placeattested(in the Greek
version)is ThuburboMinus.
4 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER139
destinedfor executionin a spectacularentertainment that was
simultaneously intendedas an instrumentof publicterror.4The
celebratory occasionfortheirdeathswasthebirthdayanniversary
of Geta, the reigningemperor'syounger son. Amongstthe
intendedvictimswerea youngwomancalledVibiaPerpetua,and
her companionin prison,a youngfemaleslavenamedFelicitas.
Therewerethreemen, Revocatus,Saturninus and Saturus,who
werealsopartof thegroup.Accordingto theauthorwhoreported
thesubsequentevents,the prisonersmaintained theircomposure,
walkingto their fates "with calmfaces,hardlytrembling,if at
all". Perpetuaherselfwas able to refutethe intrusivestaresof
the spectators"withher own intensegaze".Her abilityto stare
directlybackintothefacesof herpersecutors, notwiththeelusive
demeanourof a propermatrona, brokewith the normativebody
languagein a way that signalledan aggressiveness that was not
one of conventionalfemininity.5Her contemporary, Tertullian,
was well awareof the problem.When speakingof the need
for young women to cover their heads,he remarksthat such
veilingis necessarybecause"a youngwomanmustnecessarilybe
endangered by thepublicexhibitionof herself,whilesheis penet-
ratedby the gaze of untrustworthy and multitudinous eyes, is
fondledby pointedfingers,and is too well loved by far".6Her
intensereturngaze was thereforea sign of Perpetua'srejection
of the legitimacyof the onlookers'voyeurism.Her look was a
refutationof the spectators'naturalassumptionthatthey should
be able to engagein "the innocentenjoymentof theirnational
pornography".7
Whenthe prisonerswere firstled out to theirexecution,the
localauthoritieshad attemptedto add shameto their suffering
by tryingto compelthe condemnedto don the formalattireof
4 K. M. Coleman, C'FatalCharades: Roman Executions Staged as Mythological
Enactments", T1.Roman Studies, lxxx (1990), pp. 44-73, "Humiliation", pp. 46-7;
C. A. Barton, "The Scandal of the Arena", Representations,xxvii (1989), pp. 1-36.
5 M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, trans. R. Hurley, 3 vols. (New York,
1978-88), iii, The Care of the Self, p. 138; E. M. Schur, Labeling WomenDeviant:
Gender, Stigma and Social Control (Philadelphia, 1984), pp. 55-7, drawing on the
work of Erving Goffman.
6 Tertullian, De virginibusvelandis, 14.
1991), ch. 5, "Psychosexual Aspects of the Bullfight", pp. 154-75, at pp. 167-71, for
"transgressive looking" as an essential part of the "erotico-violent degradation" and
"arousal" that "necessarily accompanies any spectacle of killing and gratuitous risk
of life"; the quoted phrase is his (p. 173).
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA s
19See the illustrations in Leclercq, "Ad bestias", nos. 89, 90, 92; contrast the
treatment of males, figs. 88, 91, 92.
20 M. Perniola, "Between Clothing and Nudity", in M. Feher, R. Naddaff and N.
Tazi (eds.), Fragments for a Historyof theHumanBody(New York, 1989), pp. 237-65,
at p. 237; M. Miles, CarnalKnowing: FemaleNakedness andReligious Meaningin the
ChristianWest(New York, 1989), introduction and ch. 2, "'Becoming Male': Women
Martyrs and Ascetics", pp. 53-77.
21 Martyrdom of Agape, Irene and Chione (A.D. 304): Musurillo, Actsof theChristian
Blandina at Lyons in 177, and in the Actsof SaintsPaul and Thecla,33 (W. Schnee-
melcher, "Acts of Paul", in E. Hennecke, New Testament Apocrypha, ed. W. Schnee-
melcher, trans. R. McL. Wilson, 2 vols., Philadelphia, 1963-5, ii, pp. 324-64, at p.
362) the young girl Thekla is stripped of all her clothing, covered with a see-through
net, and sent into the amphitheatre.
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA 9
Ofcourse,occupational andsocialstatuswerealsodeterminants
of access to celebratedmartyrdom.The measurablepatterns
clearlyshow high-rankingimperialand ecclesiasticalofficials,
and personsof high socialstanding,absolutelydominatingthe
calendar.Set against these patterns, Perpetua'shigh social
standing(despiteher gender)makesthe recordand survivalof
herownaccountof hermartyrdom morecomprehensible. At the
sametime, it bringsto our attentionthe extraordinary natureof
the memorialization of Felicitas,the slave. Finally,thereis the
dimensionof chronological context.Perpetua'sdeathoccursin
an earlyphaseof recordedand rememberedChristianmartyr-
doms.Mostmartyrdoms, includingmostfemaleones,wereto be
recollectedfor periodsmuch closer to the final Constantinian
victoryof the Christianchurch.The Decianpersecutionof the
mid-thirdcenturyis clearlya watershed,butmostof the formally
remembered martyrdoms comefromoneperiod-the immediate
run-upto Constantine, the so-called"GreatPersecution"begin-
ning with Diocletianand his successors.This period,close in
timeto the Constantinian "revolution"thatwasfinallyto legalize
andofficiallyempowerthe church,accountsfor well nighhalfof
all recordedandmemorialized martyrdoms. Perpetua,therefore,
is to be placedin a veryearlyphaseof the productionof narrative
memoirsthat were to feed into the laterreinterpretation of the
historicalsignificance of martyrdomin the church.
Perpetua'saccountis also unusualin anotherway a way
whichmightwell accountfor the relativefreedomshe hadin her
narrationandin the fixingof her own accountas authoritative in
a way that was not possiblefor laterwomen.She was the first.
Thatis to say, if we were to makea crudedivisionamongstthe
narrativemartyrologies andformalmartyrActa(Actamartyrum)
we mightsay thatthereis a divisionbetweenthosethatportray
the fates of collectivegroupsof Christiansas opposedto those
whichrelatethefatesof "solitaries".The lattertendto emphasize
the heroicachievements of greatindividuals all of themmale
andordinarilyholdingsomespecialstatusin the church(usually
that of bishop).In this respectthe martyrActa only reflectthe
generalmale preferencesand power networksof the time
power relationshipsthat are even more clearlydrawnin the
generalrunof allmartyrswhereecclesiastical andimperialofficials
(and soldiers)dominatethe field. Femalefiguresdo appearin
"collective"accountsof martyrdoms beforePerpetua but as
PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER139
16
subordinateactorsin a widerdrama.In
her own experiences,therefore,Perpetuawriting her accountof
was(to the best of our
knowledge)breakingnew groundin assertingthe
legitimacyof her own experiences.41 primacyand
But her wordsdid not just
recordthis personalexperience.They had such
that her narrativehad a greatinfluenceon the persuasiveness
way subsequent
autobiographical
accountsof "martyrdoms" werecomposed,pro-
voking mimicryof her words and style,
Africa.42
especiallyin north
To make the point clearer,we might
femalesin the accountsthat precedehersconsider the roles of
in date.A very early
referenceto a femalemartyrdomcomes from the
emperorMarcusAurelius,fromPergamumin Asia time of the
Minor.43
narrativeis primarilyof the "solitary"type, with The
emphasis the main
beingon the heroicresistanceof two males,
Papylos.Theaccountalsoincludestheactionsof one Karposand
oneof the first femalemartyrsso celebrated. Agathonike,
executedalongwith the two men,her actionsareAlthoughshe is
representedas
41 I would therefore
like to make three critical distinctions in
othersthat have been commonly used to my approach from
analyse Perpetua's significance:
(1) One is to claim her as a "late
antique" or even a "medieval" writer. Unless
weare willing completely to ignore the
normal meanings of historical periodization,
sucha categorization does violence to her
experience. She cannot properly be under-
stoodas "late antique", and even less as
thoseperiods summoned in comparison "medieval" (as the female writers from
clearly show), but must be placed in a late
second-and early third-century social milieu,
at the height of "classical" Roman
powerin the Mediterranean.
(2) Another is to claim her as an example
of a great, but lost, tradition of femal.q
writers. This position I also reject. There is, alas, no
and the few surviving female writers who can be sign of any such "lost tradition"
able placed with her are utterly imcompar-
in every way with her achievement.
Though of small scale, her narrative is an
incandescent jewel of writing; to place beside it, for
would be somewhat like claiming the example, Egeria's travelogue
regionaries of Rome, or extracts from geo-
graphers, as paradigms of high literature, which
they are not. Historians, alas, must
face the facts. There is very little surviving
any female writing, and few indications of
"lost tradition": it is the relative absence
of any such tradition that demands
explanation, and we are not likely to get an honest
false ideological claims. Typical of the latter answer by pre-empting the solution
by
is P.
Lost Tradition:WomenWritersof theEarlyChurch Wilson-Kastner et al. (eds.), A
(3) Finally, there are movements to (Washington, 1981).
theologize her whole experience (an interpreta-
tionthat is manifestly rejected by the whole of
this article) or to reread it through
the
modern ideology of Freudianism.
42 The accounts of
Marianusand Jacobus (A.D. 259)
Martyrs, no. 14, pp. 194-213) and that of Montanus (Musurillo, Actsof theChristian
15,
pp. 214-39) show clear signs of mimicry of and Lucius (A.D. 259) (ibid.,no.
certain aspects of the diction, themes,
conceptsand structure of Perpetua's narrative.
43 Ibid., no. 2, pp.
22-37: "possible" because there is a dispute
with
some placing the acts under the emperor over the dating,
Decius (A.D. 249-51).
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA 17
not moved by a sudden fit of emotion, but is put through the same inquisitorial
process as the men, facing much the same questions, and offering her own rational
defences of her beliefs. The crowd of spectators shout out to her to have pity on
herself and her children, a sentiment that is then echoed by the proconsul. When she
does not relent, they have pity on her because of herbeauty,which they could judge
since she had been stripped of her clothing (6.4-5 [L]).
45 The precise location of the town is not known; it was in the general area of north
Africa close to Carthage, and Thuburbo Minus: see P. Mesnage, L'Afrique chretienne:
eveAcheset ruinesantiques(Paris, 1912), p. 219.
46 Musurillo, Acts of the Christian Martyrs,no. 5, pp. 62-85; Eusebius, Historia
Ecclesiae,5.1 (1-51).
18 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 139
Blandina'searthlymistress[that is, her female slave owner], who was
herselfamongstthe martyrsin this conflict,was in agonylest, becauseof
her bodilyweakness,she wouldnot be able to makea bold confessionof
her faith. Yet Blandinawas filled with such power that even those who
were takingturnsto tortureher in every way from dawn to dusk were
wearied and exhausted. They admitted that they were beaten, that
therewas nothingfurtherthey coulddo to her. They were surprisedshe
was still breathing,for her entirebody had been brokenand torn.
On the day she was takeninto the amphitheatre at Lyons,along
withthreemalecompanions, to be exposedto wildbeasts "to
offera publicspectacle".The menweremadeto "runthe gaunt-
let" and were exposedto other calculatedtortures,finallyto
expire. Blandina,on the other hand, was tied to a post and
exposedto wildanimalsthatwerelet looseon her:"Sheseemed
to hangtherein the formof a cross".But none of the animals
wouldtouchher,so she wastakendown,andreturnedto prison.
On the lastdayof the gladiatorial
gamesBlandinawasbrought
back,savedfor the culminatingpointof the tortures.That was
the usualfemaleplacein suchentertainments.47 In publicpunish-
ments,therefore,the specialvalueof rarityattachedto females,
when coupledwith the dangerousand yet alluringspectacleof
witnessingthe public violationof normsof sexualityand the
mutilationof otherwiseprotectedand honouredfemalebodies,
gavea specialedge,a sharperculmination to the display.In being
compelledto play the femalerole in a dramaof publicpunish-
ment,theslavewomanBlandinaachievedthesortof glorydoubly
deniedto her in normallife, where honourwas normallythe
preserveof malesof free status.48Giventhese knownways in
which femaleswere punished,where else would women like
BlandinaandPerpetuaexpectto be in thatprocess,exceptlast?
As the culminatingpoint of the display,however,Blandina's
deathcouldbringher honour.Afterthe ritualgauntletof whip-
ping and clubbing,beingburnedon glowingred irons,she was
strippednaked,coveredwith see-throughnetting,and exposed
to theattackof a bull.Hernudityandexposureto the quintessen-
tial male beast,as must now be clear,were simplypartof the
Romanlanguageof punishment.Blandinawasgoredandthrown
aboutuntilshewassenseless,until"sheno longerperceivedwhat
washappening".She died. The spectators,it is said,werecom-
pelled to admitthat in their experience"no womanhad ever
sufferedso much".Her fortitudeandendurancewerecompared
to those of a victoriousmaleathletewho triumphedagainstall
odds"to win" andso to achievegreathonour.
Theseearlierpublicexecutionsprovidea minimalcontextfor
the understanding of whathappenedto Perpetuaand Felicitas:
the orderin whichthey werebe placed(becauseof gender),the
types of humiliationto which they were to be exposed, the
dishonourof publicnudityandthe shameof netting(becauseof
gender),the sortof wildbeaststo whichtheywereto be exposed,
bulls or cows (becauseof gender),the bodily reactions(being
thrownuntil renderedinsensate),and the types of attitudesin
whichthesewere to be interpreted(by malewriters).Although
theaccountof Perpetua'sdemisecanbe betterunderstood against
this background, it is the uniquenessof her narrativethatstands
out againstthe earliercomparativematerials.Perpetua'swords
are of such unusualliteraryand historicalqualitiesthat it is
difficultto conveyhow theirpowerof communication, styleand
contentdifferso muchin thefundamental aspectof simplereport-
age fromall otherso-called"martyracts".Her wordsare:
colloquial. . . no emotion,no fantasyof Perpetua'sappearsdisguisedby
stylisticornaments. . . [she]recordsher thoughtsin an informal,graphic
way, which is moving partlybecauseshe is not strivingto be literary.
There are no rhetoricalflourishes,no attemptsat didacticismor edifica-
tion. The dialogue. . . retainsthe imprecisionsof livingconversation. . .
The heroinesin Greektragedyhave momentsof comparableintensity,
but the intimate and unselfconsciousquality of Perpetua'sutterance
standsalone.49
Perpetua'scompositionalsosharescharacteristics typicalof other
femalewritingin comparable genres,amongstthem a penchant
for a repetitiveparatactical
style whichemphasizesthe concrete
and is more directlytied to the realitiesof actualface-to-face
49 Dronke,WomenWritersof the Middle Ages, ch. 1, "FromPerpetua to the Eighth
Century",pp. 1-35, at pp. 1, 6; he sees this not so much as a literaryartifice,as
somethingwellingup out of given socialconditions:"Whilethereis as Auerbach
saw a profoundconnectionbetweensermohumilisand the new realismfoundin
certainChristianwriters, this concept is particularlyproblematicin the case of
Perpetua.Her diarycan scarcelybe discussedin terms of a 'new realism'-any
morethancan the diaryof AnneFrank,or the Indianmemoirof MaryTyler,or the
prisonlettersof AngelaDavis, in our time";cf. E. Auerbach,Literary Languageand
(cont. on p. 20J
20 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER139
relationships thanthe abstractions andcomplexitiesof male
aryproduction.It has beenargued,convincingly,thather liter-
andthatof womenwritersfromlate antiqueandearly style,
medieval
contexts,flowsdirectlyout of a worldof oralcommunication, to
whichwe otherwisehavelittle, or no, access.50But if
wasthe firstto so write,she was, in manyways,the last. Perpetua
were to be few repetitionsof her singularachievement. There
positionis thereforelikethatof a Sapphoor a Corinna females Her
who brokeinto the worldof literaryproductionat a
fortuitous
conjuncturewhen new genres were openingand before male
controlanddomination overliteraryproductionled to a
exclusionof womenfrompublicwriting.Thatis surelycomplete why she
"speaksof things that do not occur elsewhere. . . Ancient
literaturehadits Antigone,but thereis nothinglike [Perpetua],
norcouldtherebe; therewas no literarygenrecapableof
sentingrealitywith so muchdignityandelevation''.5l pre-
The whole documentthat is today labelledthe "Passion
SaintsPerpetuaandFelicity"(PassioSanctarumPerpetuaeet of
Fel-
icitatis)is much more than just Perpetua'sbare
account.(See
Table).It also includessubstantialadditionsby an editor
bothprecedeandfollowherwords.Myinvestigation which
of the entire
document hastwo primarypurposes.First,I wishto establishan
understanding of the core of the documentshornof the male
editor'sadditions.The greatimportanceof this aim should
haveto be emphasized. not
Establishing theprimacyof whatPerpetua
experienced, thought,saw and felt is not only a rarepossibility
granted to the historian,but also demandsthat we reproducea
faithfulversionof howshe sawherselfandthe waysin whichshe
interpreted whatwashappeningto her. This taskis all the more
pressing becauseof thesecondaimof thisinvestigation: to demon-
(n.
49 cont.)
its
Publicin Late LatinAntiquityand in the MiddleAges,trans.
York,1965),ch. 1, "Sermohumilis",pp. 27-66, at pp. 60-65. R. Manheim(New
50E. A. Petroff(ed.), MedievalWomen's Visionary
duction, Literature(Oxford,1986),intro-
"The VisionaryTraditionin Women'sWritings:Dialogue
graphy",pp. 28-9, noting the effect of oral communicationon and Autobio-
Perpetua's
stylehasthusbeenfrequentlymisinterpreted, female reportage.
ments leadingto typicalmisiudge-
such as that of Leclercq "this heroic woman uses childish
"Perpetueet Felicite",col. 422. I amonlyclaimingthatthissortlanguage":
Leclercq,
is"characteristic",
not determined.It couldwell be the resultof of rhetoric
"rhetorical"strategiesas muchas anythingelse: see A.conscious
conscious or semi-
and the Rhetoricof Femininity(Princeton,1990), esp. pp. Weber,Teresaof
Avila
analysis. 5-1S, for a cogent
51 Auerbach, LiteraryLanguage andits Public,p. 63.
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA
21
TABLE
STRUCTUREOF THE
"PASSIONSOF SAINTSPERPETUAAND FELICITY"
Editor's Introductionto the document(1-2)
(a) Statementconcerningthe theologicalstatusof the document(1)
(b) Introductionto the principalcharactersof the drama(2)
ences here.
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA 25
of similarfemalevisionaryaccounts:a strongdrivetowardsan
autobiographical presentationof the self (withthe necessaryrhet-
orical stratagemstherebyinvolved),a markedimpactof oral
communication in the writtenpresentation,and an immanent
"presence"of the authorthat exudesfromher own account.S9
Perpetua'sfirst vision came in responseto a requestfrom her
brotherwho believedthat she couldeasilyask for a visionsince
shestoodin such"highdignity".She,in turn,feelsshecaneasily
makea promiseto her brotherto havesucha visionbecause"I
knew that I could speakwith the Lord, whose favoursI had
alreadyexperienced"(4.1-2). In her dreamshe does not get a
directanswerto herbrother'srequest,butinsteadclimbsa ladder
of greatheight,at the baseof whichis coiledan enormoussnake.
At thetopsheentersintoanimmensegarden(hortus= garden=
paradise)wheresheseesa white-haired man(likeherownfather)
in shepherd'sdress milkinghis sheep. Aroundhim are many
thousandsof peoplecladin shiningwhitegarments.He givesher
some cheese to eat. Upon hearingthe surroundingmultitudes
chant"Amen",shesuddenlyawakeswiththetasteof "something
sweet"in her mouth.Sheoffersno furtherinterpretation of the
meaningof the dream.Hersecondandthirddreamscameto her
as the result of an unpremeditated reactionwhen she was at
prayer.Quite involuntarilyPerpetuautteredthe name of her
deceasedbrotherDinocrates.The suddenrecollectionof herdead
brotherprovokesa secondvisionin whichshe sees Dinocratesin
a darkplace(alongwith manyotherpeople)wherehe is hot and
very thirsty,but deprivedof accessto a pool of waterthat was
locatedcloseat hand.60Shedecidesto interveneon his behalfby
prayingfor him. Her third dreamconfirmsthe successof her
efforts.Dinocratesis not onlyableto drinkfromthe nearbypool
of water,but alsohas beencuredof the disfiguringfacialcancer
thathadkilledhimas a youngchild.He drinksandproceeds"to
play joyfullyas young childrendo". She attributesno more
meaningto hersecondandthirdvisionsthanthe communication
of a certaintypeof knowledge,andthe efficacyof herownactions
in dealingwith the problemonce she hadbecomeawareof it.
59Petroff (ed.), Medieval Women'sVisionaryLiterature, introduction, p. 21 f.; one
must note that the characteristicsPetroff assigns to her medieval female writers (e.g.,
celibacy) are not shared by Perpetua. In her actual social position, she cannot be
grouped with them.
60 The standard images which lay behind parts of the vision are outlined by
F. J. Dolger, "Antike Parallelen zum leidenden Dinocrates in der Passio Perpetuae",
(cont. on p. 28)
PASTAND PRESENT
28Of NUMBER139
these visions, however, it is
the day before her the fourth-the one seen
on
execution-that has occasionedthe
comment.61In it she is taken greatest
from
Pomponius and led to an arena. A her prison by the deacon
her. Even in her dream huge roaring crowd awaits
state Perpetua is confused.
that she has been She
condemnedto the beasts; yet this is knows
is happeningto her.
Rather, it is clear that she is to not what
physicalcombatwith a male engage in a
inher own words (10.6-7): opponent. The rest is best continued
There cameout againstme an
with his assistants,to fight Egyptian,disgusting appearance,
youngmen as my assistantsand me. And there came to in along
me some handsome
a man. And my assistants supporters.I was undressedand
beganto rub me all over with became
customaryin suchathleticcontests.62 olive oil, as is
Overshadowing the arenashe sees an
resplendent enormousfigureclad in the
festivalgarmentsand holding
(editor)of the games, holding the the symbolsof a patron
(lanista) staff of a gladiatorialtrainer
and a branchwith golden
forthe victor. A brutal, apples that is to be the reward
isa combinationof the grindinghand-to-handfight ensues that
Greek-style
artscontest known as the pankration"no-holds-barred"martial
combat.63 and elements of gladiatorial
Perpetuadefeatsthe Egyptianand
toaccept her reward. He kisses goes up to the lanista
peace her and says: "My
be with you". To Perpetua, daughter,
thatin the games on the next the visionhad the clearmeaning
day
withmere beasts, but against the she was not going to battle
(n. O
Devil himself (representedby
cont.)
Antike
undChristentum, ii (1930), pp. 1-40, though
are
notall that strong in it must be said that the
substance. parallels
Though it too is dreamt in
61
dem
Agypter in der conventional images: F. J. Dolger,
Perpetua-Vision: das Martyrium als "Der Kampf mit
Antike
undChristentum, iii (1932), pp. 177-88. Kampf mit dem Teufel",
62 The choice of the "foul Egyptian"
reflection is almost always
of racism. The Egyptians misinterpreted. It is a simple
group
in the Roman world were the most despised,
hated and reviled ethnic
satanic
thing. therefore an appropriate choice
for a dark and
63Louis
Robert, "Une vision de
rendus
del'Academie Perpetue, martyre a Carthage en 203", Comptes
desInscriptions et Belles-Lettres
that
theGreek text has a better (1982), pp. 228-76, who
command of the observed
does
notargue, however, for technical
any priority of this version. terms of the contest. This
author's
mastery of the technical The reason for the Greek
PassioSS. Perpetuaeetvocabulary was understood long ago by Franchi de'
Cavalieri,
not
conversant Felicitatis, p. 35 f. It is simply that Perpetua was
with the jargon of the
translator
was. Further, contra arena or amphitheatre,
Robert, the whereas her Greek
contest;
as with many Christian contest is not just a pankration
and
athletic
texts
contests are merged into a
(see ibid.,p. 37 f.) elements of both or athletic
single mixed literary type. gladiatorial
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA 29
the "editor", there can be little doubt that the hand is a male
one, and, for the purposesof the problemat hand, that is all that
matters.
This first stage in the appropriationof Perpetua'sexperiences
thereforeleft her own accountfundamentallyintactandunaltered.
That already argues for a certain "untouchability"of the basic
text, for which the most likely explanation(to me) would lie in
its inherentpower, its resistanceto tampering.Somethingof this
inability of the editor to touch the original is hinted at when he
remarkson how "unworthy"he might be to add anythingto the
descriptionof her glory ( 16.1). Being unableto rewritePerpetua's
own account in any "better way" the editor chose instead to
surroundher document with his own materials that is to say,
with a preface(1-2) and an epilogue (16-21), and by the insertion
of the dream of Saturus immediately after the conclusion of
Perpetua'sown words that report her final vision (11-13). That
is to say, the editor brackets or surroundsthe original work in
such a way that the reader enters it, and exits from it, through
his interpretations,through his words. In this way he can guide
the readerinto Perpetua'swords, can "set up" the readerso that
he or she will read Perpetua's account with a certain meaning
alreadyplaced in his or her mind. First of all, in direct contrast
to the simple, factualreal-time replay of what was happeningto
her, the editor counterpoisesa heavily theologizedtext, a densely
theoretical structure which is intended to deflect the reader's
attention away from the plane of immediateexperience to tran-
scendent levels of meaning. The ideology (as opposed to her
straightforwardpractice) holds that her experiences are to be
interpreted in a cosmic frameworkwhere, as the editor quotes
Holy Scriptureto show, God will work in such a way that even
daughtersand female-slaveswill be able to functionas bearersof
His Spirit in this world. That such low-status persons should be
able to be witnesses (martyres) was just anothersign that the final
stages of the currentworld orderwere at hand, and that everyone
was now living "in the final days".
Much the same themes can be found in the "tailpiece"attached
to the end of the passion. The editor neatly works his way from
the last of Perpetua's own words (her fourth dream) by adding
to the accountat that very place the dreamof Saturus.This vision
has been deliberatelyinserted to counter the implicit assertions
of her words (that is, men can have visions too) and to serve as
32 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER139
a bridge to the closing comments of the editor. In attemptingto
establishthe equallegitimacyof Saturus'visions, the editormakes
the same claims of primacy for it as for Perpetua's: "But the
blessed Saturusalso publishedthis vision of his, which he himself
wrote down in his own hand" (11.1). But this vision is unlike
Perpetua's not only in its language and construction,but in its
impersonalbent, its concern with theologicalinterpretationand
ecclesiastical hierarchy (underwritten as a template of divine
order), a cast of new male characters,and a "reread" Perpetua
(now speaking, quite properly, in ecclesiastical Greek) who
declares:"Praise to God, as I was once happy in the flesh, so I
am now much happierhere in this existence" (12.7). If the vision
was truly Saturus'own, then it would already attest to distinct
perceptualdifferencesbetween those who were to be martyred
(basedpartlyon gender, it would seem). But there must be strong
doubts that the account, as it stands, is indeed "by him and in
his own hand".
The editor can also assertthe highestauthorityfor his interven-
tion in Perpetua'sstory: it is the Holy Spirit that finally permits
his recountingof the final events of the games (16.1). He can also
appeal to the strongest secular legitimationfor his actions; in a
parody of the Roman law, he claims both a contractof mandate
(mandatum)and a "trust" (fideicommissum) granted to him by
Perpetuaherself. In his version of their deaths, the editor's mar-
tyrs hardly experience the real terrorsof jail and prison. Instead
they walk from prison to the amphitheatre"in joy, as if they
were going to heaven". Perpetuais transformedinto a "shining
countenance" and becomes the "bride of Christ" and "God's
darling"(Dei delicata)(18.1). Similarly,the experiencesof Felic-
itas (one who had endured the frighteningordeal of giving birth
in prison) are reconfiguredinto a metaphoricalsymbol: "she goes
from one blood bathto another,from the midwifeto the gladiator,
ready to wash after childbirthin a second baptism" (18.3). The
reinterpretationsimultaneouslybears a simple theologicalimage
and a manifestly degradingmessage. The terrifyingexperiences
of the arena itself are themselves reread. Insteadof the real fear
evinced in Perpetua's words, one gets divine certainties. "But
He who said, 'Askand you shall receive', answeredtheir prayers
by giving each one the death he asked for" (19.1). So too,
Perpetuaherself, in behaviourand image, is transformedinto the
model of a Roman matrona.When shaken by the charge of the
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA
33
wild cow, she is moreconcernedaboutpersonalshameand
thananythingelse (20.3-5): style
First the wild CQW chargedPerpetuaand threw her on her
sittingup, she pulleddown the garmentthat back. Then,
side, so that it uncoveredher thighs,thinkinghad been rippedalongone
moreof her modestythan
of pain.Next she askedfor a pin to put her messed-up
It wasnot rightthata [female]martyrshoulddiewithher hairbackin place.
hairout of order.
Withthese words,and a heavytheologicalenvoi) the editor
finishedhis taskof "framing"Perpetua. has
The first editor'sresponseto Perpetua'swords was
unusualnor solitary.It was to be repeatedagainandagain. neither
specificproblemthat faceda male-dominated The
socialorderwas
the very rarityof Perpetua'sachievement.That a female
donesuchthingsin itselfthrewintoreliefthosevery had
areasof sexual definitionand power that much troubledproblematic
organizedchurch.7lHer challengewas thereforea permanent the
one. She had narratedher own accountof her experiences,
theseweretold in sucha way, with sucha powerand and
of rhetoricthatthe verywordsshe wrotecontainedan simplicity
irrefutable
self-empowerment. They could not be ignored. They assert
specificactionsthat placedher experienceat the centre
she was achieving in roles that had been and
overwhelmingly
restrictedto males.That was only part of the problem.Every
year,on the anniversaryof her martyrdom,Perpetua's
wereread aloud to the assembledparishionersin the words
various
Christianchurchesin northAfrica.Her particular visionwasre-
enactedannually,andthusreplayedwascontinuallyto returnto
hauntthosewho hadto confrontit. In this sense)therefore,
wasa livingtraditionin whichthe audiences)maleand hers
wouldhearreplayedfor themthe experiencesof a woman female,
amode, and in a contextof action,that surely(at least)put in
doubton the normativevaluesof theirsociety. threw
One way in whichthe problemposedby her recordcould
metwasby its redactionfromherlargelydescriptive be
andnarrative
accountinto anotherform, that of a commentarius (trial tran-
script).72
Thatis to say,a laterauthortookthe basicfactsknown
aboutPerpetua'sdeathandrecasttheminto the classicmouldof
71 S. Leuchli, Power and Sexuality: The Emergenceof Canon
Elvira Law at the Synod of
(Philadelphia, 1972), ch. 4, "The Sexual Dilemma", pp.
72 For the conventions of
88-113.
the form, see G. A. Bisbee, Pre-Decian Acts of
andCommentarii(Philadelphia, 1988). Martyrs
PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER139
34
the trial-transcriptformoftenfoundin other
authorwasprobablywritingsometimein themartyrologies. The
fourthcentury;his
perhapspretendedignoranceis suggestedby his
deathsof the two women in the consulshipsof placingthe
Valerian
Gallienus(A.D. 255/7).73This sort of later reactionto and
Christianhistoryalso seems to have been typicalof theearlier
fourthcentury.In theaftermath mid-
of theformalizationof ecclesiast-
icalpower,therewas a general"housecleaning"to
makemore
manageable the marginalproblematical areasof power,including
sainthoodandsexuality.For liturgicalandideological
earlierexperiencesanddocumentshadto be brought"into purposes,
Thefirstbig problemof compositionfacedby the line".
of Perpetua'sexperience of merelyprovidinga re-compositor
neat court
document wasthattherewasno survivingtrialtranscript:
originalmartyrology the
of Perpetuaand Felicitashad very little to
sayaboutthe trialproceedingsat whichthey were
Unlesswe cansupposethatthe authorhadindependent condemned.
suchinformation accessto
(forwhichthereis no evidence),thenthe only
reasonable suppositionis that his mode of workingwas to use
whatinformation he had (in the GreekandLatinaccountspro-
ducedin the first decadesof the thirdcentury)and to use his
imagination to reconstructwhathe thoughtmusthavebeensaid
onthe occasionof the trial.This doesindeedseemto
hismodusscribendi. havebeen
The interestingquestionsto ask are: What
didhe thinkwasworthaddingto the accountthatwas
not in the
original(eitherin word,or by implication)? Andwhatwouldbe
suggested to him as normalinquisitorial questioningand typical
dialogue from othersuch trialscenes(questionssuch as: "Will
younot sacrifice?",followedby the appropriate
retorts defencesand
regardingadhesionto Christianbelief)?Otherthanthese
"typicalelements"therearenotableinventionsthathavestruck
more than one readerof the Acta. First of all, the
judgeseparatesthe menfromthe womenso as to dealproconsul-
withthem
separately.74After this sexualsegregation,he proceedsfirst to
ask
the men the normalquestionsaboutsacrificeand
removes belief.He
them,andthenturnsto the females.Herethe questions
are
of a whollydifferentorder:
73 The Acta arepreservedin two variantLatinrecensions
see
VanBeek,Passio SanctarumPerpetuaeet Felicitatis, (A andB); for the texts,
is drawnprincipallyfromthe fuller(A) version. pp. 58-73;the evidencein my
text
74 Acta, 4.5 (A)-
THE PASSIONOF PERPETUA 35
The proconsulorderedthe men to be removed(from his tribunal)and
orderedFelicitasand Perpetuato be broughtin.
He then spoketo Felicitas:'Whatnamedo you go by?' She replied,
'Felicitas'.
The proconsulsaid:'Do you have a husband?'
Felicitasreplied:'I haveone whomI haverejected'.
The proconsulsaid:'Whereis he?' Felicitasreplied,'He's not here'.
The proconsulsaid:'What'shis rank?'Felicitasreplied,'Plebeian'.
The proconsulsaid:'Do you haveanyparents?'Felicitasreplied:'I don't.
Revocatusis my cousin.The truthis that I am not able to have more
importantrelativesthanthese personswith me here'.
The proconsulsaid:'Girl,have pity on your own and makethe sacrifice
so that you can continueto live. Especiallysince I see that you have
an unbornchildin your womb'.
The proconsulthen turned to Perpetuaand said: 'Do you have any
parents?'Perpetuareplied:'I do'.
[Indeedher parents,her motherand father,as well as her brothersand
husband,werelisteningandpresent,alongwith her new-bornchild,who
was still beingbreast-fed.]
The proconsulsaid to her: 'The tearsof your parentsshouldmove you
androuseyoursenseof pity, andespeciallythe criesof yourlittleone'.
[Her fathermakesa finalprotest,and asksher to pity them.]
Shovingaway her infantand pushingher parentsaway, she said: 'Get
awayfromme you workersof evil, since I no longerknow you'.75
her anniversary provokes no comment at all. Augustine felt quite at liberty, as he did
on the anniversary days of most male martyrs, to use the occasion to deliver a sermon
(cont. on p. 38)
38 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER 139
parishioners
his a differentsortof moralorderin whichPerpetua's
canbe placed.82He can thenappropriate her gaze
achievements faith",can
transferit to his auditorswho, with the "gazeof
and that,
the martyr'scrown,and who can now understand
witness merely
facingthe chargeof "thatsavagecow", Perpetuawas
in
sheddingher own bodyin this world.
same
Thesecondof Augustine'ssermonsreplaysmanyof these crown is
themes,only with greaterforce. "For the [martyr's]
moreglorious",he begins:
goes withoutsaying,a
in the case where the sex is weaker.Because,itgreater
mind in a female body is able to achieve things [relatively
male does not give out beneath
speaking,that is] so long as feminine fragility
suchan onerousburden.83
Felic-
HethenonceagainspecificallyattacheswhatPerpetuaand
thereto
itasdid to dominationby men, by husbands,and from
thetraditional"Evetheme":
It was good for them that they clung to one husband,He to whom the
Church,being one, is presentedas a pure virgin. It was a good thing, I
man from whom they drew the strengththey
say, that they clungto that were able to lay low that old
neededto defeatthe Devil that women
enemy,who, throughwoman,utterlydefeatedman.
Augustine goes on at somelengthto play on this themeof role
weakto
reversal,explainlnghow the Devil, who madewomen creatures:
defeatmen,is in turndefeatedby these selfsame weak
to die
"He[God]madethesewomenableto facedeathlikemen, sorrowfully
onbehalfof thosewho were destined to be born so
fromwomen".As proofof this interpretation Augustineis able
to appeal"to whatthe blessedPerpetua herself narratedin her
that she struggled with the
own wordsconcerningher vision: is then able
Devil aftershe had been changed into a man". He
argument: it was a good thing that
to closethis firstcircleof his not be
the Devil "whohaddefeated man through woman should
to feel
ableto escapethese ambushes good that he was able
thata womanwas fighting with him like a man".
in the Fathers of the
82 R. R. Ruether, "Misogynism and Virginal Feminism
R. Ruether (ed.), Religion and Sexism: Images of Womanin the 3tewish
Church", in R.
(New York, 1974), pp. 150-83, offers a good general context,
and Christian Traditions of the evidence she analyses
against which, I think, all
shorn of her final conclusions, Women and the Rhetoric
as Metaphor:
speaks; see, rather, Averil Cameron, "Virginity
History as Text: The Writing of
of Early Christianity", in Averil Cameron (ed.),
who catches the reasons for both
AncientHistory (London, 1989), ch. 8, pp. 181-205, systematically links the two.
the fascination with virginity, and then
the misogyny and
83 Augustine, Sermo, 281.
40 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 139