Heilige Marana van Syrië en heilige Cyra als kluizenaressen met ketenen 1590 - 1662

This print depicts Saint Marana and Saint Cyra of Syria as female hermits bound by chains. During the 4th and 5th centuries, as the Roman Empire transitioned and Christianity spread, women found ways to exert agency through religion. These women chose a life of extreme asceticism. Living as hermits meant withdrawing from society, often understood as a rejection of marriage and domestic roles, allowing women to pursue spiritual enlightenment outside of patriarchal structures. The chains, symbols of their devotion and self-discipline, also speak to the limited freedoms women experienced within society. The chains become a physical manifestation of their spiritual commitment, but also a stark reminder of the constraints placed upon them by gender norms. Consider how these women sought autonomy in a world that offered them few choices, and how their stories, though rooted in religious devotion, resonate with contemporary struggles for bodily autonomy.