Transcript Sex and the City

Sex and the City
Roman Women, Motherhood and
Marriage
Roman Mothers
• Seneca the Younger
writes about his mother
• Roman writers describe
a general and idealized
image of a Roman
mother
• Rare to hear about
mother’s affection for a
child
• Children accustomed to
a broad network of
people raising them
Seneca on Motherhood
• “Don’t you see how fathers treat their
children one way and mothers another
way? Fathers. . .demand sweat and
tears from their children. Mothers want
to hold their children on their laps and
keep them in the cool shade; they want
them never to be made upset, never to
cry and never to be in distress.”
Summary
• Motherhood is more generic than
personal/individual portraits of women
• Women were expected to be virtuous,
self-sacrificing, strong, and devoted to
the education and political advancement
of the family
The Rape of Lucretia
• Titan’s painting
• Famous turning
point in Roman
history
• Story is written as if
it were a tragedy,
even though it is a
history of the early
founding of the city
Summary of the Story of Lucretia
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Lucretia is a Roman matrona
Virtuous woman without fault
She is raped
Believes that if she continues to live,
she will no longer contribute to society
• Can only change things through her
death (i.e., further violence)
• Passive victim or active agent?
Romans, Sex and History
• History = political achievements
• Sex (Distraction or Procreation of more
Roman males?)
• Cleopatra = part of Roman world, but
outside of the paradigm
• Eventually becomes an historical figure,
but why? How does she die?
Rape of the Sabine Women
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Possin’s painting
Single women
Kidnapped for marriage
Risk their lives (offer to
die) to create a new
society
• End of hostilities
• Everyone lives in peace
Vestal Virgins
• House of the Vestals
in the Roman Forum
• Cult of Vesta =
religious order of
virginal purity that
protected the
Roman state
The Roman Goddess Vesta
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Honor to be a Vestal
Between ages of 6-10
30 years of chastity
Duties included not
letting the sacred fire go
out and keeping state
documents
• Buried alive if caught
violating vows
Summary
• Three categories of Roman women
• Dutiful mothers tend to be in the background
• Women who take a stand to save their
society, i.e., Lucretia, Sabine women, become
part of history
• Vestal Virgins are part of history as they
protect the state-sanctioned patriarchy with
their vows of chastity