Discussion Points

• Dulcitius was groundbreaking for its time because of its emphasis on feminism. Not only is Hrotsvitha the first female playwright, the female characters in this play are portrayed as extremely strong. For example, in Dulcitius, the women choose to die at the hands of men, rather than violate their faith, even if it meant losing their virginities. When threatened with being sent to a brothel, Hirena argues that her virginity is not the indicator of her faith, as she could be forced to have sex, but it is the spirit’s consent that matters in the eyes of the Lord. This statement from Hirena proves that the play is not solely about virginity, but also about female ideology as a whole. Hrotsvitha was highly influenced by the famed playwright Terence. Additionally, she wrote about her intention of shifting the portrayal of women from Terence’s negative, to a more positive one. The fact that a woman was writing about strong women during this time period was big. (Maddie Fink)

• Dulcitius was written by the first known female Germanic playwright. With this play she extended the boundaries of medieval literature and the image of women at the time with her use of sex and comedic dialogue. (Jay Olvera)