Felicitas And Perpetua Summary

The Value of the Body According To Felicitas and Perpetua

In an attempt to deliver on the value of the body, this paper settles on the text Felicitas
and Perpetua. It seeks to answer the question as to whether the narrative of Felicitas and Perpetua merely focuses on their struggles, or it essentially concerns a reinforcement of the ideas of abandoning the family for the church.
In the book the writer of the story Felicitas and Perpetua, presents faithful Christians who show their devotion to Christ in several ways. Felicitas and Perpetua deny themselves the best that the daily life has to offer; the joys, duties, and the intimate family love
and family life (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50). In an era that nearly everybody easily

compromises Christian faith with the ordinary family values, theirs is certainly a timely story.
This narrative reinforces the subject of abandonment of family obligations for the church (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50). Having fully offered their bodies to Christ, Perpetua and Felicitas have explicitly confirmed that the body can only be valuable if used as the temple for Christ. Though the narrative of Perpetua and Felicitas appears to be centered on their struggles, it basically concerns a reinforcement of the ideas of abandoning the family for the church (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50).
The relationship between Perpetua and the father is the greatest featured of the entire family ties she is dealing with.

This relationship is demonstrated by Perpetua’s assertion, “we were still with the persecutors, and my father, for the sake of his affection for me, was persisting in seeking to turn me away,” (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 49). Personally, Perpetua may have considered this relationship a most important one, considering how significant it is in the roman society where it is expected that daughters should care for their parents, honor them, and improve their family reputation by getting married. However, having believed that her body is the temple of Christ, Perpetua opted not to conform to the expectations of the society. Together with felicity, they defer their duties as mothers to remain devoted to Christ, and leave behind young children during their death (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas

50).
Though the narrator describes Perpetua as nobly married, at no point in the text do we meet a husband. Possible elucidations include that the husband was endeavoring to distance himself from his actions as a non-Christian, to an extent that he was not worth mentioning, or that his mentioning was ignored. Nevertheless, the nonexistence of a spouse prompts Perpetua to undertake a new family devotions as well as a new identity with respect to Christ.
Her execution alongside slaves revealed the ability of Christianity to surpass social distinctions, contrary to the inequality that dominated roman religion and the entire roman society. Since Felicitas and Perpetua were equal in ritual murder despite their class disparity, they confirmed the dramatic declaration that Christianity is far much above social structure (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51). Further evidence shows that Felicitas and Perpetua may have detached themselves from their partners to allow themselves enjoy lives dedicated to serving Christ.
When brought to a hearing and the martyrs declare their Christian faith, Perpetua does not hesitate asserting that she is married to Christ and that her body is purely meant to serve Christ. In a second vision, she sees Dinocrates, her brother, who had died of cancer at the tender age of seven, before being baptized. Perpetua prays devotedly for him then later sees a vision of him being healthy and happy in Christ (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 52).
Claiming that they had family obligations that needed some persistent attention, is an indication that these pagans would rather take part in the pagan cults. The burden of all these obligations mostly fell on young women. Similarly, being strange in being mothers and wives already when they answered the call for being martyrs, the married state of Perpetua and Felicitas is bound to bring with it a set of obligations and duties. However, due to their love and commitment to Christ, they opted to abandon their natural family and embrace the paranormal family of the church (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51). Their willingness to forfeit all the parental roles and responsibilities to serve the lord makes them ideal martyrs.
In keeping with the accounts of virgin martyrs, we first encounter Perpetua as a daughter and not a mother.

Much as we later learn that she is a mother, she purposefully abandoned all that makes her a mother and assumes the position of a girl (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50). This further demonstrates that all she wants to invest her energy on, is Christ. Upon being baptized, Perpetua is sent to prison together with other several Christian companions and her infant so (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 49). Here, we are able to infer that her relationship with the family is ambiguous and complex. This strained relationship is evident in the way Perpetua presents her own father, whom she views as a devil (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50). However, by receiving comfort from the brother and mother, she distinguishes herself as a lady who is up to embrace only those who grant her support to serve Christ. By being tormented even by taking care of her son, Perpetua gives the image of a devoted Christian who is ready to devote her whole time, life, and body to Christ (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51). This implies that she is not ready to take the naturally ties lightly. Also, based on the first half of her story that builds up to the vivid public break with her family roles as a mother and a daughter, Perpetua stands out as a real martyr ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of serving

Christ
(Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51).
Perpetua’s staunch belief in Christ is also depicted by her conduct during her approaching trial. Her refusal to obey her father’s plea to abandon her faith upon learning of her approaching trial, is a proof that she was a true martyr (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51). She goes ahead to defend her stand by simply responding that she is a Christian and that her body is Christ’s. Even after being fated to the beast, Perpetua awaits execution, and is merely worried about her son’s fate and not her own death (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 51). Felicitas was worried in regards to her unborn child because “for she had been pregnant when she was apprehended,” (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 55). It is for this reason that upon learning of her son’s development, she infers this development to the will of God and now believes that she will not be tortured by failing to care for her son. This further confirms that Perpetua faced her death free from every family obligation.
The narrative of Perpetua and Felicitas is not just a narrative of their struggles, but a reinforcement of the ideas of abandoning the family for the church (Martydon of Perpetua and Felicitas 50). Felicitas have explicitly confirmed that the body can only be valuable if used as the temple for Christ. By being faithful to Christ to an extent of denying themselves the best of their normal daily life, they explicitly reveal that Christian faith can never be compromised with the ordinary family values.