Vibia Sabina, an abused woman

Read this excerpt from the prologue of Manuel Francisco Reina's La emperatriz amarga, which focuses on the figure of empress Vibia Sabina, and answer the questions posed.

“There is nothing harder than the heart of a betrayed woman”, said empress Sabina with a lost gaze, like that of someone who catches a glimpse of the fluttering of an ancient and terrible divinity in the distance. “Perhaps one day women will be able to look men in the eye without being afraid of them”, she murmured sadly, “without suffering the consequences of their incomprehension. Unfortunately, I am afraid that day has not yet come, nor will it come soon. For me, however, tonight his yoke will end and I will be able to rest from the marble burden of having been only a symbol, an effigy to be sculpted and worshipped, to offer the feminine side of a coin or, in other words, to serve as barter in a power game in which I was allowed everything except for feeling. Except for being human and conducting myself according to the passions and feelings of any living creature”.

The empress, my old friend, sentenced as if she were lifting a huge invisible weight off her shoulders, as she caressed the rim of the golden cup the contents of which I did not know any more than as a hunch that gripped my words. Next to it, on the small table stuccoed with precious stones and scented wood, next to the delicate wine decanter, was a tiny glass object that had been opened and emptied out.

I observed on the same table some huge white datura flowers, of an intense sweet colour, interwoven with long green stalks of white flowers like the wild flowers that grow in the river banks, that sorceresses use in their potions and poisons. Sabina knew a lot about those plants. An old midwife had initiated her into the power and properties of the world of plants from a young age. So much so that I, just like them, knew well that the mixture of those two vegetable essences produced a deep sleep with no return. I remained silent, respectful of this proud woman, even in her defeat. [...] She was aware of my presence, which she had called in the middle of the night, to my surprise, when I was already close to sleep [...]

Our translation based on: Reina, Manuel Francisco (2011). La emperatriz amarga. Barcelona: Roca Editorial, (retrieved on 10/10/21), <https://books.google.es/books?id=Xrql6c6aHPUC&lpg=PP1&dq=la%20emperatriz%20amarga&hl=es&pg=PT8#v=onepage&q=la%20emperatriz%20amarga&f=false>

In this book, the author tells the story of Vibia Sabina, wife of Emperor Hadrian, considered one of the first abused women in history. Although scarce, there is evidence of this in the Historia Augusta or in De viris illustribus by Suetonius. In these works, it is said that she took potions to prevent pregnancy, as she lived in fear of conceiving a child with the monster her husband was.

1. Look up in a dictionary the meaning of any unknown words.

2. This excerpt speaks of empress Vibia Sabina's death. From what you have read, can you identify those sentences in the text that explain how she dies?

3. From the text, we can deduce that Vibia Sabina has been mistreated by her husband, Emperor Hadrian. How do we know this?

4. The narrator of this fragment is the poetess Julia Balbilla, a poetess in the empress's entourage to whom she confesses shortly before her death in the novel La emperatriz amarga. Look up information about the poetess.

5. Despite the abuse she was subjected to by her husband, Sabina lived with him for four decades. Why do you think she stayed with her abuser for so long? Although her husband was much hated, after his death she was adored and acclaimed, but her figure has been eclipsed by that of her husband. Why is this the case?

6. Do you consider gender-based violence a historical phenomenon? What is your opinion on gender-based violence?

7. Find information on Roman sorceresses and matrons.