Daily Martyrdom and the Suffering Feminine Body: Discourses of Female Asceticism in Late Antique Christianity

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Recent scholarly work has re-evaluated the portrayal of the suffering Christian body and its representation in literature of Late Antiquity. Yet critical study of discourses of suffering have focused almost solely on martyrological sources, virtually ignoring the significant body of ascetic literature in which narratives of suffering are also prominent. To address this gap in scholarly work, I propose to investigate the textual commemoration of corporeal suffering of female ascetics in fourth and fifth century Christian discourse. Corporeal suffering was not the sole preserve of the heroic martyr, indeed ascetic literature located suffering in graphic, grotesque and often shocking descriptions of rotting flesh, illness and putrefaction of their ascetic protagonists. This bloodless or daily martyrdom wascommemorated, authenticated and perpetuated, through placement within a metanarrative of salvation and history using recourse to scripture and historical precedents. By focusing on the relationship between female ascetic suffering and its placement within this framework, I aim to shed new light on ourunderstanding of corporeal performances beyond the field of martyrdom and of martyrdom beyond persecution.