How Temporality Shapes Social Structure in the Acts of Thomas

Abstract

Abstract The present paper attempts to discuss the image of women in the Acts of Thomas against the wider theoretical background of temporality as it was perceived and construed through the text. More specifically, I will focus on how notions of time that emerged in the early centuries of the Christian era proved to be a key factor in shaping women’s agency as this is reflected in the apocryphal Acts. The nexus between time and the construction of the feminine in the Acts of Thomas emerges as being particularly interesting because it sheds light on many relevant questions in early Christianity, such as chastity, asceticism, reconfiguration of family ties, social norms, and roles.