2026-09-18T23:16:58Zhttps://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/server/oai/request

oai:null:10339/334552026-04-21T20:58:40Zcom_10339_14934col_10339_38132

Lieberman, Sarah Elizabeth 2011-07-14T20:35:35Z 2013-07-14T08:30:10Z 2011 https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/handle/10339/33455 This thesis discusses the current scholarly conversation surrounding the gender identity of Perpetua as illustrated in The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas. While many scholars contend that Perpetua's exemplification of various masculine traits and virtues makes her "male," I argue that such conclusion overlooks too quickly the spectrum of possibilities. For, by taking a deeper look within the narrative, I argue that Perpetua maintains a lasting sense of femininity throughout the work's entirety. Instead of arriving at a forced "either/or" conclusion, then, I suggest that another possible gender category may be at play: androgyny. In order to support this claim, however, I look to the meaning of masculine, feminine, and androgynous traits in antiquity, as well as investigate whether androgyny was a known and/or popular category during the time of Perpetua's martyrdom. en Wake Forest University Ancient Religious Texts Androgyny Early Christian Literature Gender Genesis Creation Story Perpetua Vibia Perpetua's Gendered Hybridity: A Critical Examination of Perpetua's Androgynous Identity in the Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas Thesis Foskett, Mary F Horton, Fred L Boyd, Stephen B Religion 2013-07-14 restricted