Labour and Family Separation in Roman Egypt

Abstract

This dissertation examines the experience of families who were separated when one or more members left home to work in Roman Egypt, with a focus on the second century CE. These effects range from practical concerns such as maintaining communication links between family members and protecting vulnerable family members from exploitation by employers, to the emotional consequences of separation. Chapter 2 compares how different families approached the problem of maintaining communication while separated, and how they organised the transportation of various items needed for work or personal use. In contrast to previous scholarship, I emphasize the difficulty of maintaining contact with absent family members. The various precautions taken by individuals to ensure the safe delivery of items provide evidence for difficulties in transportation. Less wealthy families used many different methods to ensure the safe transportation of the goods they sent each other, such as describing the contents of a package in an accompanying letter to reduce the risk of tampering. By contrast, wealthy families freely exchanged letters and other items without any mention of how these items were transported. This suggests they had access to secure communication methods which were unavailable to less wealthy families, most likely a personal letter-carrier. Wealth was therefore a significant factor in determining the ease of communication. Chapter 3 examines the emotional effects of separation on families. Emotional expressions in letters have often been disregarded in previous scholarship as they are usually formulaic: however, there are compelling examples where formulaic greetings clearly carried emotional weight. This chapter contains a discussion of the various techniques through which emotion is conveyed in letters, and it examines the types of emotion most commonly found in letters sent between separated family members. Negative emotions are prominent, such as anxiety concerning the health of absent family members and frustration over slow and difficult communication. Vulnerable family members such as children, the elderly and pregnant women were sources of special anxiety. These expressions of concern indicate that many letter writers cared deeply for their absent family members: individuals who receive good news from their family express their relief and describe their excitement at the prospect of being reunited with their family. The fourth chapter discusses the various types of conflict created when family members were separated, such as disagreements with employers, with other individuals outside the family, and internal conflict between family members. Contrary to the common ancient trope of the male household head acting as a protector for the women and children of his household, evidence from letters indicates that women were often able to manage household affairs and lead the family through crises when their husbands or sons were absent for work. On the other hand, children sent away to work separately from the adult members of their household were very vulnerable to exploitation. Young workers often struggled to receive the correct compensation for their work and sometimes contended with more serious issues such as physical abuse from their supervisors. This suggests that the presence of the male head of household was not crucial to the safety of vulnerable family members, but the protection of an adult of any gender was valuable. Comparing these case studies with the patriarchal norms of the legal and administrative structures of Roman Egypt suggests the latter did not always reflect lived reality.