Graduation Year
Spring 2012
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Religious Studies
Reader 1
Andrew Jacobs
Reader 2
Erin Runions
Reader 3
Oona Eisenstadt
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2012 Catherine Alison Ballard
Abstract
This paper is my own unique feminist analysis of certain apocryphal texts. Though the texts I use have common themes, they are divided into what I consider the three most societally important aspects of an ancient woman’s identity: virgin, mother, and whore. The Acts of Thecla and The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena deal with virginity. II Maccabees, The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas, and select chapters of Augustine’s Confessions represent motherhood. Finally, the hagiographies Life of Pelagia and Life of Mary navigate through the mire of sexualities that deviate from norms.
Recommended Citation
Ballard, Catherine Alison, "Can't Be Tamed: A Feminist Analysis of Apocrypha and Other Scripture" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. 104.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/104
Included in
Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
