Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: My paper examines the use of the Latin diminutive noun puella, literally meaning “sexually immature” young girl, in Roman comedy, lyric and elegy. It considers how and why Catullus, Horace and the Augustan love elegists employed this noun for mature women they depict as sexually active and emotionally valued. Its analysis builds upon and critiques two earlier linguistic studies: one on the nouns puella and virgo, the other on puella as a term for “prostitute”. By so doing, it argues for the importance of analyzing Latin texts concerned with gender issues through traditional philological as well as innovative theoretical lenses.
Source: Eugesta
DOI: 10.54563/eugesta.983
Author: Judith P. Hallett
Institution: University of Maryland, College Park
Language: English
Topic: Classical Antiquity Studies
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2549334752