Perpetua and Felicity - Christians Challenging The Traditions of The Family Within The Text

Christians Challenging The Traditions of The Family Within The Text

In the Passio, Christian faith motivates the martyrs to reject family loyalties and acknowledge a higher authority. In the text, Perpetua’s relationship with her father is the most prominently featured of all her familial ties, and she directly interacts with him four times (iii, v, vi, and ix). Perpetua herself may have deemed this relationship to be her most important, given what is known about its importance within Roman society. Fathers expected that their daughters would care for them, honor them, and enhance their family reputation through marriage. In becoming a martyr, Perpetua failed to conform to society’s expectations. Perpetua and Felicity also defer their roles mothers to remain loyal to Christ, leaving behind young children at the time of their death.

Although the narrator does describe Perpetua as “honorably married”, no husband appears in the text. Possible explanations include that her husband was attempting to distance himself from the proceedings as a non-Christian, that he was away on business, or that her mention of him was edited out. Because Perpetua was called the bride of Christ, omission of her husband may have been intended to reduce any sexual implications (xviii). Regardless, the absence of a husband in the text leads Perpetua to assume new family loyalties and a new identify in relation to Christ.

Perpetua belonged to an aristocratic family with Roman citizenship, as indicated by her name Vibius Perpetua. Perpetua’s execution alongside slaves demonstrated Christianity’s ability to transcend social distinctions, in contrast to the inequality that pervaded Roman religion and society. As Perpetua and Felicity were equal in martyrdom despite differences in class, they made the dramatic statement that Christianity transcended social structure.