The Women Of Pliny's Letters (women Of The Ancient World)

Pliny's Letters Offer A Significant Source Of Information About The Lives Of Roman Women (predominantly, Though Not Exclusively, Upper-class Women) During The Late First And Early Second Centuries Ce. In The 368 Letters Included In His Ten Published Books Of Epistles, Pliny Mentions Over 30 Women By Name, Addresses Letters To Seven, And Refers To Well Over 40 Anonymous Women. Many Of The References Are Brief Comments In Letters Whose Topics Are The Activities Of Pliny's Male Acquaintances. Nonetheless His Letters Inform Us About The Roles Of Women In Roman Families, Marriages, And Households, And Also Record The Involvement Of Women In Such Matters As Court Cases, Property Ownership, Religious Orders, Social Networks, And Political Activities. This Book Has Two Aims. The First Is To Bring These Women To The Foreground, To Explore Their Kinships, Relationships, And Activities, And To Illuminate Their Lives By Viewing Them In The Social, Cultural, And Political Environments Of The Period In Which They Lived. This Book Utilizes Historical, Literary, Legal, And Epigraphical Sources To Examine The Events, Circumstances, And Attitudes That Were The Contexts For The Lives Of These Women. The First Aim, Then, Is To Gain Insight Into The Reality Of Their Lives. The Second Aim Of This Book Is To Investigate How Pliny Defines The Ideal Behavior For Women. In His Accounts Of The Actions Of Both Women And Men, Pliny Frequently Shapes His Narratives To Promote Moral Lessons. In Several Of His Letters About Women, He Elevates His Subject To The Status Of A Role Model. The Second Aim Of This Book Is To Use The Descriptions Provided By Pliny To Acquire A Better Understanding Of What Behavior Was Admired In Roman Women Of This Period, And To Consider How The Concept Of The Model Roman Woman Is Constructed In Pliny.--publisher's Description. Arria The Elder And The Heroism Of Women -- Arria's Family And The Tradition Of Dissent -- Pliny's Wives -- Mothers, Nurses, And Stepmothers -- Grandmothers, Aunts, And Mothers-in-law -- Daughters And Sisters -- Women Outside The Family. Jo-ann Shelton. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Pliny's letters offer a significant source of information about the lives of Roman women, predominately, though not exclusively, upper-class, during the late first and early second centuries CE. In the 368 letters included in his ten published books of epistles, Pliny mentions over 30 women by name, addresses letters to seven, and refers to well over 40 anonymous women. Many of the references are brief comments in letters whose topics are the activities of Pliny's male acquaintances. Nonetheless his letters inform us about the roles of women in Roman families, marriages, and households, and also record the involvement of women in such matters as court cases, property ownership, religious orders, social networks, and political activities Cover 1 The Women of Pliny’s Letters 2 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 7 Acknowledgements 9 List of abbreviations 10 Introduction: writing about lives 14 1 Arria the Elder and the heroism of women 28 2 Arria’s family and the tradition of dissent 56 3 Pliny’s wives 106 4 Mothers, nurses, and stepmothers 190 5 Grandmothers, aunts, and mothers-in-law 249 6 Daughters and sisters 280 7 Women outside the family 319 Notes 348 Bibliography 404 Index of Pliny’s letters 414 Index of ancient names 421 Index of subjects 435 The second aim of this book is to investigate how Pliny defines the ideal behavior for women. In his accounts of the actions of both women and men, Pliny frequently shapes his narratives to promote moral lessons. In several of his letters about women, he elevates his subject to the status of a role model. The Women of Pliny's Letters offers an important view, through the medium of Pliny's letters, of women within the Roman world. Book jacket The large collection of letters by Pliny the Younger includes a number of women among its addressees, and Pliny also gives us plentiful information about many women of his acquaintance. This book brings together this material to build up a portrait of a peer-group of women in their social setting.