Martyrdom Of Perpetua And Felicitas Summary

Within the text “The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas”, a firsthand account of the actions taken by early Christian martyrs is displayed in vivid detail. The interactions frame an insightful look into the life of a Christian who was being prosecuted, showcasing how gender and the outside world both influenced how and why Perpetua and her fellow Christians were martyred. Perpetua, the main character and narrator of this text, is a woman who refuses to give up her faith even though she is threated with death. This is similar to the ideals presented by the “Acts of Thecla” where Thecla acted in almost complete independence form the typical familial structure, even under the threat of violence. Perpetua reflects this within her own narrative, refusing to renounce her faith in order to be sparred, even with her child having to be separated from her and her father pleading for her to renounce Christianity. …show more content…
They do differ slightly in the fact that Thecla was focused on chastity while Perpetua was not chaste (as evidenced by her child), as well as the fact that Thecla lived through her devotion, with Perpetua wished (and achieved) glory through martyrdom. The “Passion of Perpetua” also presents how the outside world interacted with Christianity. The outside world believed Christians to be savages, attributing cannibalism and strange ritual practices to their religious devotion. This is akin to the Gospel of Judas, where the apostles have a vision of individuals sacrificing animal and children as a strange religious ritual, to which Jesus replies “It is you who receive the offerings at the altar you saw. That one is the God you serve. And the twelve men you saw are