Vibia Perpetua was born around 181 A.D. in Carthage, located in Roman North Africa. She is listed in history as an honesta femina or noblewoman which would have placed her within the most elite circle of Roman Carthage. Her social standing would have made her arrest and martyrdom a politically charged event. Her family was traditionally Roman and predictably oppose to her Christian faith. Her father was a passionate pagan, who tried to dissuade her Christian beliefs through every means available, even going so far as to resort to physical force. Her brother was a catechumen or Christian in training which would have complicated matters further. Perpetua’s persistent resolve to follow Christianity would no doubt have encouraged her brother to do the same while simultaneously distressing her parents. It was one thing to lose a daughter to Christianity but an entirely different matter to lose a son to it. While daughters were valued, a higher premium was placed on sons, given Roman citizenship and inheritance laws. A daughter’s conversion to Christianity brought dishonour to the family while a son’s conversion was construed as treason against the state which could result in confiscation of property or other social penalties. Considering all this, pressuring Perpetua to recant was vital to the stability of the entire household.

Perpetua also records her interactions with her father while she was imprisoned, writing how he pleaded with her to have pity on both him and her son. However Perpetua’s response is both courageous and inspiring. When her father pleads with her to recant her faith she responds, “I cannot be called anything other than what I am – a Christian.” Her resolve to follow Jesus while forfeiting her duty to her family would have shocked Roman society. At the time pietas, Roman duty to family was one of the core values of society. When Perpetua chose to disregard this in favour of her faith, she demonstrated rebellion not only against her family but against the established social order of the empire, possibly even the empire itself.

While she was in prison, Perpetua claimed to receive visions from God which strengthened her faith. On different occasions she was shown a ladder reaching to heaven, a shepherd and other scenes that encouraged her to persevere. Perpetua also records her close bond with her slave Felicity, demonstrating the power of the gospel to bridge social differences and create bonds of sisterhood within a society where social hierarchy was sacrosanct.