"And Hilarianus the procurator, who had just received the power of life and death in the place of the proconsul Minucius Timinianus, who was deceased, said, ‘Spare the grey hairs of your father, spare the infancy of your boy, offer sacrifice for the well-being of the emperors.’ And I replied, ‘I will not do so.’ Hilarianus said, ‘Are you a Christian?’ And I replied, ‘I am a Christian.’"
Faced with the pleas of her father and the life of her baby, Perpetua is given much temptation to renounce her faith. The governor even plays upon her love for her father to try and persuade her to change her mind. She answers that fateful question with unwavering courage, despite these obstacles. And she pays for it with much suffering for her and her family and eventually her own life.
"Perpetua followed with placid look, and with step and gait as a matron of Christ, beloved of God; casting down the luster of her eyes from the gaze of all. Moreover, Felicitas, rejoicing that she had safely brought forth, so that she might fight with the wild beasts; from the blood and from the midwife to the gladiator, to wash after childbirth with a second baptism."
These two brave women are being led to their deaths, yet they retain joy. Perpetua has realized her identity in Christ, which has made her resolute and reassured in her death. She doesn't look at the crowd, not for fear, but for piety. Astonishingly, Felicitas is happy on that fateful walk. She has delivered her baby and thus feels perfectly liberated to face her end, which could have come before the birth.
“Perpetua, that she might taste some pain, being pierced between the ribs, cried out loudly, and she herself placed the wavering right hand of the youthful gladiator to her throat. Possibly such a woman could not have been slain unless she herself had willed it, because she was feared by the impure spirit.”
In this most impactful moment, Perpetua embraces her death with dignity. She is not eager to suffer uselessly, so she guides the hand of the gladiator to her throat that she might die quickly. In the author's esteem, Pepertua dies because she allows it to happen, having granted her concession.
"My prison suddenly became a palace for me."
After delivering her child, Perpetua is allowed to house the baby in her cell with her. This is a source of endless joy for her, transforming her confinement into a home of sorts. She feels intensely honored by the opportunity to mother this baby in spite of her own life challenges at the moment. Given that Perpetua's execution is likely, it's especially profound that she spend some time with her baby.
