Reading Stella Duffy’s Theodora Actress, Empress, Whore I couldn’t help but think of modern day women who do what they need to do in order to survive. Like Madonna. While I don’t mean to call Madonna a whore, Madonna resembles Theodora as a person who was, is, so skilled at transforming herself that she is still relevant decades after all of her contemporaries are faded away.
Theodora was a similar woman. She started her career on the stage as an actress, which was also synonymous with prostitution. She played upon her talents as a comedian and pushed the boundaries of the time to give the audiences the show they craved. Theodora did what she needed to do and transformed herself as needed in order to survive.
Historical fiction often bogged down with details that can make readers feel like they’ve picked up a text book. Here, Stella Duffy weaves facts with great storytelling for a highly enjoyable narrative. The story was not one that could be read lightly; this work is heavy with details from the Byzantine and Constanople empires but these details helped transport me to an ancient civilization that is nor unlike our own.
Join us as we begin a discussion of the life and time of Theodora. You can join in on the discussion to! This week we are asking Do you fit in or do you stand out?
I read Theodora as part of the BlogHer Book Club Please stop over and join the discussion. I was sent a copy of the book and will be compensated but all thoughts are my own and were in no way influenced.
Doing my thing,
-r
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