The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity

Hiding the Sex of their Flesh Throughout the history of Christianity, there have been many documents displaying stories of martyrs. The word ‘martyrdom’ is derived from the Greek martyrein, meaning ‘to bear witness’. In Christian understanding this has meant witnessing to Christ and to the Christian faith, even under pain of death at the hands of others. Most of these reports show martyrs as men, who demonstrate courage and honor in the face of those challenging their commitment to their faith. The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity expresses the account of two female Christian martyrs in 203 A.D. and their personal reflections in reaction to their oppression. Perpetua’s memoir reveals an insight unto her life and how these two model—in the mist of persecution—striving towards freedom against their family blood and male oppressors. Gender roles have played a huge role in society as far back as written history goes. Perpetua was not confined by how she was supposed to act as a woman and took a traditionally masculine role in several situations. Perpetua did not value her femininity as strength, rather she shed it and deliberately masculinized herself to be strong; upholding the false idea that the only way to be heroic is to be like a man. This story reflects about beliefs of the early church in correlation with the experience of a female martyr and provides insight into how the male-dominated culture of that time biasedly interpreted the actions of courageous Christian women merely as characteristic of men: Women can take on a masculine role for the sake of God to the point where they “become men” in the eyes of Christianity.
The first presentation of Perpetua’s transcendence of gender roles was the complete lack of presence or influence from her husband. He was not even named in the text, and there was no indication of his existence other than a statement that Perpetua was “wedded honorably”1. Therefore, Perpetua was in an ideal situation where all