Acts of Thecla

Published on: Author: alatham3@uoregon.edu 73 Comments

In The Acts of Thecla, Cartlidge makes it a point understand that in early christianity, men in the world have dominated christianity. However, there are some key points in the reading that can show how women actually play a large role in christianity as well. According to Cartlidge, women in this culture were to do exactly what they were told, they weren’t smart, and to be submissive to their husbands. In section 10, Thamyris speaks to Thecla. He says ” Thecla, my betrothed, why do you sit thus? And what sort of feeling holds you distracted? Come back to your mother and be ashamed”. Just from that sentence, we can tell that if a woman in that culture did anything that wasn’t what the husband, or in this case fiance wanted, then the women should be ashamed of themselves, and correct what they did wrong. However, Thecla decided to continue to keep her mind on Paul,  stood up for herself and refused to marry Thamyris. Their primary path in life was to be quiet, do what they were told, and not speak of their regligion.

In this story, the figure who I believe represents a masculine perspective of what women should be like during those times would be Thyamris. He doesn’t approve of Thecla wanting to go and visit Paul, and he makes it very clear. Thyamris gets filled with ” bitterness and jealousy” (section 15) over Paul, and wished to do him harm.

Thecla challenges the sterotypical beliefs of women in multiple ways. With Paul, she kept her eagerness and continued to seek him out, and listen to all he had to say. She endured many harships along the way such as being condemned by her own mother to be ” burn the wicked one; burn her who will not marry in the midst of the theater, that all the women who have been taught by this man be afraid” (Section 20). It is one thing for someone to be condemned by friends, or even from strangers. It can’t have been easy for Thecla to be hearing this from her own mother. Even though her mother condemned her to burned, she still refused to marry Thamryis, and followed Paul. Throughout the story, she ended up not being burned, but saved. She praises Jesus by saying ” I praise you that you have saved me from the fire that I may see Paul again” (section 24). Thecla was condemned many times and was put through many trials, but through each trial, she held steadfast to Jesus’s and Pauls teachings. She challenged other male and female characters in this story simply by supporting Pauls teachings of Jesus, and by praising Jesus.

I believe that Thecla did subvert the typical beliefs of women, and I believe that she proved that belief wrong in everything that she did, and stood for, but in a good way. She wasn’t doing what she did, or saying what she said to hurt people like her family and relatives. She did it because she thought it was right, and was simply standing up for what she believed in.

I would think that any men in this story or anyone who who had these certain beliefs about women during this time, or even Thamryis himself wouldn’t have wanted people to hear of this story, or traditions around Thecla. It could potentially cause an uproar amoung the women, and men might have had to share the dominance in the roles of christianity.

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