History 211 Source Analysis: Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

The purpose of a source analysis is to draw from a primary source, written during the period we are undertaking to study, insights into the way people lived and thought during that time. This piece, an example of hagiography, the life of a saint, consists of a combination of first-person and eyewitness accounts of the passion (suffering) and death of a young Roman matron in the early third century. Write a four-page paper in which you address the following questions:

1. First, describe the source. Explain when it was written, by whom, and on what occasion. What events does it describe?
2. Explain what you perceive to be the writers' intentions in giving this account, in Perpetua's description of her own experience and in the witness's account. What specific passages in the text give us insight into this question?
3. Look at the relationship Perpetua has with her father. Keep in mind that patriarchal power in ancient Rome was meant to be absolute, over every subordinate member of a family, even sons. What does her account tell us about the early Christians' attitude toward family?
4. Look at both Perpetua's and Felicity's relationships to their infant children. The traditional role for women was motherhood; again, what does their response tell us about Christians' priorities in regards to family?
5. Study the role of dreams and visions in the narrative, in as much detail as space permits. What do these passages tell us about the way Perpetua understood her experience of violent death?
6. Finally, address the concluding description of Perpetua's death, in terms of the message her actions hold for those looking on and learning of it.

In writing the paper, you need not address questions 2 to 5 in exactly the order given, but what I would urge you to do wherever possible is utilize passages quoted directly from the text to illustrate your conclusions.

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