Abstract
Abstract While speaking to the women of his church about marriage, widowhood, and remarriage Tertullian of Carthage marshals a negative example of prosperous gentile women taking their own freedmen or slaves as their sexual partners. Common opinion is that this example was chiefly metaphorical, warning against mixed marriages between Christian women and non-Christian men. This article shows that Tertullian’s example of mistress-slave sex was a rhetorical trope also deployed in other early Christian writings that participated in a Roman literary discourse on household management (oikonomia). As such Tertullian’s example of mistress-slave sex was more than metaphorical. It sought to establish a marriage economy that regulated Christian women’s bodies for their economic resources. The example further reveals Tertullian’s economic interests in Christian marriage, tensions over gender roles and class, and a fear that some Christian women might also enter relationships with their own freedmen or slaves.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
