Avenues of female political influence in late republican Rome:

Senior women frequently acted as advisors to their brothers, husbands, children, and occasionally even parents. Servilia is known to have had a strong influence over her brother Cato even in his adulthood, Fulvia was a key agent and confidante for each of her husbands, and even Tullia sometimes sent letters telling her father Cicero what she thought he should do.

Women had their own social networks in parallel to men. They visited each other for social engagements, religious observances, scoping out marital prospects for themselves or their children, and passed along letters and information. Aristocratic women like Servilia could often visit politicians' households more easily than their male relatives could, and female clients would often prefer to approach their patron's wife than the patron himself. Women could also be patrons with client networks in their own right.

Women could act as negotiators, spies, and go-betweens. Mark Antony's mother negotiated with Sextus Pompey on Antony's behalf; Servilia pulled strings to get Brutus and Cassius' provinces reassigned. Men often relied on their female relatives to tactfully sound out alliances, gauge public opinion, or collect intelligence while the man could maintain plausible deniability.

Women could canvass or intercede on behalf of relatives. Although being too publicly active was considered embarrassing, it was quite proper for a mother, wife, sister or daughter to talk to the family's allies, clients, and other politicians to get benefits for her kin. They could help male relatives get elected, taken off proscription lists, or get his legislation more support.

Women were probably consulted on most marriage alliances, and thus on political alliances via marriage. Mothers, grandmothers and aunts in particular were often involved, thanks to their extensive social networks and opportunity to assess potential spouses. Although brides usually didn't get much say in their first marriage, they usually had more choice in second and third marriages.

Women's social connections were especially important due to Rome's barebones civil infrastructure. Compared to modern states, republican Rome had very few magistrates or civil servants. There were also few "social services" in the modern sense. People relied on family connections and the patron-client system in order to meet their needs, respond to emergencies, and get things done. Having more friends in as many places as possible was necessary for political survival; you couldn't afford to sequester your women.

When men went overseas to govern provinces or serve in the legions, it was often their female relatives who managed estates in their absence, advocated for their interests in Rome, and kept them updated on political events. This was especially important in the late republic, when wives didn't normally follow their husbands to the provinces. A wife was expected to be a representative for her husband and point of contact for his allies. Mothers, sisters and aunts may do the same.

Property and power went hand in hand. Wealthier women had more social and political influence. Changes in marriage and inheritance law resulted in more women owning property in their own right during the late republic. Unless a will was written otherwise, by default sons and daughters inherited equal shares of an estate. Sine manu marriage enabled women to become legally independent at earlier ages, take back their dowries after divorce, and avoid being completely under their husbands' authority.

Although women couldn't vote or run for office, and were expected to use their influence in private homes instead of the public square, there's no doubt that aristocratic women like Servilia, Fulvia and Aurelia played major parts in building alliances, furthering their families' careers, defusing conflicts, and sometimes starting new ones. A particularly well-connected woman like Servilia could exert more weight in the Senate than most senators.

The system they lived in aligned their personal interests with those of their husbands, sons, and birth families, so most of our evidence shows women acting on behalf of men rather than pursuing personal agendas. These allegiances also ran along class lines: Servilia would have been far more interested in preserving her family's reputation, security and wealth than in the issues of poor or middle-class women.

In Roman politics, the personal was political. Parties and get-togethers were networking events. Weddings were for the families' joint prospects and goals as much as they were about the newlyweds. Friendships were expected to include reciprocal favors in business and politics. Your very house was both a symbol of yourself as a person, and your political hub, and your children would learn the system and make connections as much as home as in the forum.

This means that women, by necessity, were heavily involved in Roman politics. We have less documentation of their work than men's, since so much of it was unofficial and behind closed doors, but the republic depended on aristocratic women's skills, activities and relationships as much as on men's.

(Notes taken on Servilia and Her Family, by Susan Treggiari.)

bts react- them as your boyfriend

-the biggest dork of a boyfriend oh my god

-but tries to act cool™️

-when he buys himself hoodies he’s also subconsciously thinking of whether or not you’d like it

-he wants to buy the kind of hoodies you want to steal

-“this one is a nice color but this other one is cozier and y/n would be able to curl up in it so I should go with this one”

-lots of giggling

-and that cute embarrassed smile/eye scrunch namjoon does (you know the one)

-he would cup your cheeks in his hands ALL THE TIME

-on dates he just wants to stare at you

-like it’s borderline creepy…

-but he’s just so in awe of you

-constantly wonders what he did to deserve you

-makes playlists for you to listen to

-he’s the type of boyfriend that would 100% put you first

-gets so concerned about your wellbeing that he kind of hovers

-he wants a partner in life and wants to be able to learn and grow with you

-tries so hard to be perfect for you

-is the type of boyfriend that won’t shut up about you to random strangers or friends but honestly doesn’t even realize that you’re all he talks about

-when someone calls him out on it he gets reeeaaalll embarrassed and shy

-always says you need to take more pictures together but then gets so lost in the moment he forgets to take any

-we already been knew you gonna lose some ribs cause you’ll be laughing so hard around this man

-writes you awful corny love jokes

-he’s the type of boyfriend who will always take care of you

-you’ll never have to worry about anything basically

-treats you like royalty and would do anything for you

-lots of at home dates!!

-cuddling on the couch drinking wine and watching old movies

-or karaoke

-but not…regular karaoke

-“whoever sings the worst doesn’t have to do dishes”

-it’s basically you two screeching and making inaudible sounds into a microphone

-some mornings you’ll wake up and he’ll be acting out a role from a film and it’s your mission to guess what character he is

-until then no kisses >:|||

-Jin would be the relaxed kind of boyfriend but you’ll never stop laughing

-would 10000% sing you to sleep

-just wants to spend time with you. That’s his love language 

-you are the source of his confidence

-”If I could get y/n to fall in love with me then I can do anything”

-at some points in the relationship you will have to remind him that he is an adult and to stop acting like a child

-only gotta tell him once and then he’ll get his shit together

-the type of boyfriend to make you think “wow…he’d be an amazing dad.” a LITTLE too early into the relationship

-shy boyfriend

-wants to protect you but also wants to hide behind you

-just wants you to be as in love with him as he is with you

-reaalllly afraid he’s going to do something to mess things up :(((

-has the mentality of “push them away before they push you away”

-is just really afraid

-but once you break down those walls and show him that you’re here to stay and that you love the real him…

-the dorkiest boyfriend

-so many sarcastic jokes

-“aha!!” kind of laughs

-sees the relationship as 50-50 but understands that sometimes you might be at a 30 so he needs to step up and be the 70 (I hope that makes sense)

-S P O I L S Y O U

-you mention one time you like that one thing?

-it’s all wrapped up in a pretty bow on your side of the bed by the end of the week

-leaves you REAL CUTE NOTES

-“hi baby I hope you have a great day at work! Don’t forget to take your vitamins and take a water bottle with you. Never forget you are the most precious thing to me. I love you more than I can ever describe.”

-writes songs about you

-a lot of songs

-would want to hide you from the paparazzi to protect you but would tweet so many obvious things about you

-at the end of the day he just wants to be held by you

-he’s so afraid of losing you that he’ll go over the top with everything he does

-legit watches romantic movies or reads romance novels to “Study” how to be a boyfriend basically

-but then quickly finds out that type of stuff isn’t how the real world works

-I could honestly go on and on about the type of boyfriend my lil yoongurt would be cause he’s seriously the dream boyfriend

-not gonna lie hobi might be kind of a mess of a boyfriend. Lemme explain

- m o o d s w i n g s

-just emotionally all over the place

-he seems to feel his emotions 10 times more than a regular person

-when he’s happy he’s OVER THE MOON

-when he’s upset or angry it’s a lot of petty attitude

-those are on rare occasions though

-he’s the type of boyfriend that clings to you

-just needs you close 24/7

-is really easy to shop for???

-I don’t think he’d particularly take you out on lots of dates

-he’s prefer bringing the dates home

-like board games and crafts

-6 months in and he’s talking about babies

-highkey just really intense

-but it’s mostly in a good way

-never forgets your birthday or anniversary

-the boyfriend that goes “it’s our three month anniversary! I got you a gift!”

-your family just ADORES HIM

-easily jealous

-ultimately is the ideal boyfriend once he gets past his own insecurities

-if you guys argue he will be the mature one to make you both sit down and talk it out

-ever wish you could date a golden retriever? WELL SAY NO MORE

-jimin would be the most loyal boyfriend

-would feel bad leaving you to hang out with his friends

-so many cuddles

-will literally fetch anything for you

-you need anything? He’s already on his way to the store to get it for you

-comes back with flowers and your favorite candy

-the type to get you presents just because they reminded him of you

-lots of romantic dates

-definitely the “my best friend is my boyfriend” type

-you are the center of his world and all he wants is for you to be happy

-if you have younger siblings he’s always excited to see them and play with them

-he really quickly becomes an addition to your family

-he’s really insecure so he needs constant confirmation that he’s a good boyfriend and that you love him

-the type to make a sims family with you

-“look y/n! Our sims have 8 kids!” 

-sometimes he’s so clingy it’s annoying

-like gadayum can’t anyone pee without holding their boyfriend’s hand??????

-he’s the opposite of Yoongi. Yoongi would be more likely to push you away due to his insecurities but Jimin will cling too much because of his insecurities

-Jimin would be the most attentive boyfriend ever like wow what a precious gem

-so so so sooooo goofy

-lots of adventures!

-wants to take you out all the time

-never go to the same restaurant twice

-wants to capture every moment with you via camera

-sometimes you have to remind him to actually live in the moment

-loves to hold onto you

-is not afraid of pda

-gets bashful when you do the simplest things. Like kissing his cheek randomly

-he can’t take it

-lmao sorry but if you’re a female reader he gonna play with your boobs ALL THE TIME

-not even in a sexual way just if it’s there within his reach it gonna be in his hand

-sometimes he gets a little intense with how childish he is

-if you try to have a serious conversation with him early into the relationship it might not go as planned

-he has a harder time letting go of his goofy and carefree side so you’ll just have to really sit him down and explain that you’re trying to be serious and want him to act the same

-after a while though it’s SOOOOO much easier

-I don’t wanna say you have to train him to be a boyfriend but you’re gonna have to train him to be a boyfriend

-what I mean by train is that you’ll have to teach him what you like and what you expect/want from him because a lot of the dating stuff won’t come naturally to him

-but don’t worry he’s got it down and will do anything to make you happy

-just be careful not to make him feel like he’s not good enough or that you’re trying to change him

-definitely wants a “my best friend is my significant other” type of relationship

-out of all the members he’s most likely to be self aware of if he’s ready for a relationship or not

-“yeah I really like this person but I’ve got a lot going on so it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

-he’s not romantic by the book but definitely romantic in his own way

-takes you to art museums and shows you his favorite paintings

-if you look closely a lot of the paintings reflect love and inner turmoils

-you basically have to read in between the lines with tae

-oh sweet baby boy :(

-the cutest boyfriend :(

-like…the ones you see in movies kind of boyfriend

-the “this has to be scripted” or “he stole this off the internet” kind of boyfriend

-memorizes you to a T

-you’re in a bad mood? Comes home with flowers and your favorite snacks

-tucks you in at night and gives you temple kisses

-also kind of a lost boyfriend ™️

-he’s just…trying real hard to figure things out

-jungkook’s google search list:

•”how to be a good boyfriend?”

•”best places to take your girl/boyfriend”

•”how to know if you’re in love”

-wants to WRESTLE

-like play wrestling where you’re both laughing and just grabbing each other and trying to pin one another down

-is scared when he realizes it could lead to something sexual

-just wants to be a dork with you

-another “my best friend is my boyfriend” type of guy

-but also babies the fuck outta you

-is so polite and respectful to your family that they’re suspicious

-gives THE BEST boyfriend hugs

-always smells good

-the type of boyfriend that buys you the giant ass teddy bear and a giant bouquet of flowers

♡𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓉𝓊𝑒𝓈𝒹𝒶𝓎 ♡

© do not copy, modify, translate, or repost. Jinitude 10/22/19

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera

iPhone announcement

Edward Parks (Steve Jobs) and the Santa Fe Opera Chorus

Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017

(The photos are not loading. It's my Chromebook and I won't be able to fix this until I get home on Sunday. I have completed my updates, which are marked below.) I was at the second performance of the new opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, music by Mason Bates, libretto by Mark Campbell. As readers of this blog and my Twitter feed are aware, I had reservations about the subject going into the premiere, which came on top of being less of a Mason Bates fan than many. I have also seen two operas with Campbell librettos, which contributed somewhat to my skepticism; more about this below. So, the good news about the opera: the production is really terrific, using a bunch of rectangular structures on wheels to divide up the stage and, with beautiful and imaginative production, represent various outdoor locations, Apples offices, a garage, Jobss childhood home, etc. The lighting is gorgeous. The singers are amplified, which I did not know in advance, but it was obvious from the first vocal entry. Its done well enough, though there was one two minute period when I had some problems hearing soprano Jessica E. Jones. It was certainly necessary for making the guitar in the orchestra audible with what sounded like a pretty big orchestra in the pit. Whether it was necessary for the singers, I am doubtful, but it is not the only thing about the opera that was School of John (Coolidge) Adams. The performers are unimpeachable, which did not surprise me at all. I believe I have never heard baritone Edward Parks before; he sings the role of Jobs and as far as I can remember, he is on stage for the entire opera. He was absolutely tireless and sang and acted very well. Garrett Sorenson (Woz) and Edward Parks (Steve Jobs) Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017 All of the other roles are subsidiary to that of Jobs, and because I have not seen the libretto (yet), I am not sure what the line division among the other roles is. I think its likely that the second-largest role is that of Steve Wozniak (Woz), friend of Jobs from their teen years, co-founder of Apple, and designer of large parts of early Apple hardware. This role was sung by tenor Garrett Sorenson, and he was just about perfect vocally and dramatically. He is the emotional foil of Jobs within Apple, the nice guy to Jobss asshole. I have seen him before, but I had to look it up: he was Narraboth in San Franciscos last Salome. Edward Parks (Steve Jobs) and Sasha Cooke (Laurene Powell Jobs) Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017 Sasha Cooke, taking the role of Laurene Powell Jobs, got very high billing in the cast, and she is wonderful, but oh man! The part is seriously underwritten. The same is true of the role of Chrisann Brennan, Jobss girlfriend and the mother of his first daughter Lisa, sung by Jessica E. Jones More, lots more, about this below. That is not a set or a projection in the background; that is the scenery behind the opera house. Edward Parks (Steve Jobs) and Wei Wu (Kobun Chino Otogaway) Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017 The bass Wu Wei was impressive as Kubun Chino Otogawa, spiritual mentor to Jobs over a long period of time. More on this below as well. And some more good news: for this opera, Bates has composed a score that is consistently lively and inventive, with considerable charm as well. The publicity all says that this opera was his idea, and it has inspired him to write some terrific music, music that I liked better than just about anything I have heard from him in the past. The vocal lines are mostly well-written and by and large he sets the sometimes-awkward text very well. The orchestral burbles along with a fascinating assortment of sounds, some of them based on sound effects from the Macintosh computer line. Theres a guitar in the mix (obviously amplified); the orchestra is imaginative and often very beautiful. Was that a duet for alto flutes I heard at one point (possibly two)? I cant say, because I havent located the orchestra breakdown yet. There is some beautiful pastoral music when Jobs and Chrisann take an LSD trip; it also registered on me as a loving pastiche of the genre. Edward Parks (Steve Jobs) and Jessica E. Jones (Chrisann Brennan) Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera, 2017 There are some minor issues: the extremely high-energy score gets tiring to listen to after maybe 50 minutes to an hour. It could use more repose, more breaks from the relentless energy. I certainly could have done without the disturbing subsonics in one scene. Rhythmically, it is very school-of-JCA circa the 1980s and early 90s; one of my notes says somebody has been listening to Nixon in China. And, you know, that is a good thing! Nixonis one of the great postwar scores, and you ought to listen to it, especially if you are writing an opera about a public individual, because it is the progenitor of every other such opera in the last 30 years. I would say that the most successful and memorable stretches of music in the opera are the many purely orchestral sections and the two duets between Jobs and Woz. By duets, I mean non-conversational sections where the two men are really singing together and bouncing off one another. And right there, I am starting to get at some of the problems with the opera. So, the libretto is a big problem, and so is the length of the opera, and of course I have no way of knowing the process by which Steve Jobsbecame a one-act, 90-minute opera with no fewer than 18 brief scenes. But it is too short for what it is trying to accomplish and it misses a couple of golden opportunities to properly develop the female characters in keeping with the overall plot, which is ostensibly supposed to show not only how Apple and Jobs revolutionized tech, but how Jobs evolved (and presumably improved) as a person. I have been wondering since the performance whether Steve Jobswas originally a two-act opera that got reduced in size along the way. One reason for this is that at around the 50 minute mark, there is a section that dramatically and musically sounds exactly like the close of a typical first act. The music reaches a huge climax and the libretto sets up some kind of significant dramatic conflict. My notes unfortunately do not say where in the opera this is, so you will have to wait until the CD release (yes, there is one coming) before I can pinpoint its location, unless one of my fellow ink-stained wretches has also commented on this and has more detailed notes than I do. In any event, the libretto does rather rocket around, geographically and temporally. It shifts from 2007, when Jobs was already sick with the cancer that eventually killed him, back to the 1970s, forward to the 1980s and 90s. Sometimes you are outdoors, sometimes in a home or office. It is very cinematic, and given its length and familiar subject, it is in some way exemplary of the sort of thing Greg Sandow was espousing a decade ago as the future of opera. (Note: I didnt agree then and I dont agree now. The success of productions of the Ringand Troyensare evidence that operagoers have a long enough attention span that 90 minute operas do not need to become the norm.) The many short scenes encourage a telegraphic survey of the events and they really short-circuit the character development we are supposed to be seeing in Jobs. We get plenty of scenes of Jobs-the-jerk, in how he treats Chrisann when she becomes pregnant and in his treatment of Apple employees. He is truly horrible to Chrisann, blaming her for the pregnancy and ordering her to get an abortion.How can you do this to me?he sings, as though it was deliberate and he had nothing to do with it. Get rid of it. Heres the first big miss in the libretto: its the perfect setup to give Chrisann an aria of some combination of regret, longing, shock, confusion, and rage (take your pick; I can imagine any of these). Bates and Campbell duck it, and the next we see her, its years later and Chrisann, broke while supporting herself and their daughter, begs Jobs for some financial assistance...which he refuses. (Yess, he is an asshole.) Heres the second big miss: Laurene Powell comes along; she and Jobs fall in love and marry; he turns into a better person. But all we get about how and why is that she is someone who kicks his ass when he is a jerk. She is a counterbalance to his worst self. Well, so? This is not really anything extraordinary! It is not uncommon in long relationships for the partners to call out each others bad behavior and ask or demand better. And in the Jobs marriage, this is very briefly conveyed even though there is a hint, at least, that they may have once nearly broken up over his behavior. Missed opportunity: an aria for Laurene about what the relationship felt like to herand what she needed from him. Also missed: an aria of self-reflection from Jobs himself! There just isn't anything really persuasive, merely a bunch of hints and aphorisms about how he becomes a better person. We need a window into his interior life and we do not get it. Yes, this would take something long, in an opera where the scenes average five minutes in length. I rather suspect it would take an aria the length of Tu che le vanita, which might be Verdis longest, and greatest, aria. All of this really limits the extent to which we can be movedby Jobss life and transformation. We see very little about it that is intimate or convincing, and without that, we are entertained but not moved. Oh, I see you asking, but what about the spiritual mentor? Well, we dont get much from that direction, either. Some aphorisms, some humor, some really embarrassing moments. Like Chrisann and Laurene, he is more a prop in the story than he is a real person. You could say I am made uncomfortable by this: Woz is the best-developed secondary character, and that is a big problem given that it seems that this is a redemption story in some way, and the redeemers are Laurene and Otogawa. I do own that Woz is well-developed and truly a mensch; he is the guy who behaves well when Jobs does not. There are some other embarrassing aspects to the libretto: some of those Jobs/Otogawa conversations take place in 2007 and 2009, and Otogawa died in 2005 trying to save his young daughter from drowning. Jobs witnesses his own memorial service and comments on it. This comes across as mawkish sentimentality. More profoundly, we never see or hear a word about Jobs's kids, beyond Laurene lamenting that they miss him when he's working hard and is never home. We get a one-liner about how he and Laurene "adopted" Lisa, his daughter with Chrisann. She was thirteen years oldwhen Powell and Jobs married, so you really want to know what exactly that throwaway line means. His relationship with her, and perhaps Laurene's, would have been more complex than you can convey in a couple of sentences; in this opera, he spends way ore time denying paternity than he does relatingto his child. [Updates follow] Since i wrote the bulk of this review, I've had a couple more thoughts on potential additions to the opera that could improve it dramatically and emotionally. The first is that although Fitzgerald's famous line about second acts is quoted, the opera skips entirely over Jobs's amazing second and third acts: after he was booted from Apple, for good reasons, he went on to found NeXT Computer, fund Pixar as an independent company, and return to the company to rescue Apple from the hole his successors let it fall into. These are astonishing accomplishments by any standard, but there isn't a word about it. He is just mysteriously back at Apple presenting the iPhone, with no explanation. This is a blank that needs some type of filling in. I mentioned this to Joshua Kosman last night before Le Coq d'Or, and he made the persuasive argument that leaving this out means the opera never presents Jobs riding in as the white knight, which would interrupt the story of his personal evolution. True, and yet it's an awfully big part of his legend and revolution. I referred a couple of times above to Nixon in Chinaand some musical aspects of Steve Jobsthat come from that trailblazing and brilliant opera. I've never much liked JCA's reasons for using amplification; to a great extent I think it boils down to his distrust of singers and discomfort with operatic singing style. Other composers need not adopt these views: if singers can be heard over Richard Strauss's enormous orchestras, so can present-day singers. Trust your singers, ask them questions, work with them about what their strengths and weaknesses are. One reason Nixon in Chinais so successful is its amazing libretto, by the poet Alice Goodman. For the libretto, she didn't write lines for Richard Nixon; she invented a character "Richard Nixon" and gave him an inner life and thoughts that are true to Richard Nixon while clearly being her imagined version of the man. Steve Jobs, the character in Steve Jobsthe opera, remains opaque and somehow unknown because Mark Campbell takes him literally - except for the embarrassing business with Otogawa and so on - and does not succeed in expressing Jobs's inner life in a way that illuminates the life the man lived. [End updates] I mentioned earlier that this is the third opera I've seen with a Campbell libretto. The others also have significant dramatic weaknesses. In the case of Kevin Puts's Silent Night, I must say that I am not familiar with the source material, a film that is evidently popular and moving. I found the opera episodic and dramatically diffuse, and without seeing the film, I can't say whether it was because the libretto too closely recreates the film. (I also did not love the music.) The other opera is Laura Kaminsky's As One, which has gorgeous music and a libretto co-written by Kimberly Reed and partly based on her life. I wrote extensively about As Onewhen West Edge Opera performed it in 2015; I won't repeat those comments here. I want to note that some of the best parts of the libretto were the funniest, which led me to think that Campbell could write an excellent comic libretto. That led me to wonder why there aren't more operatic comedies being commissioned and composed. People need to laugh as well as cry! In closing, I think that The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs is pretty successful, with attractive, inventive, and entertaining music, an outstanding production, and admirable performances all around. Michael Christie conducted and did a fine, fine job, perhaps excepting one episode that is just too loud (but maybe Bates is to blame for this). I predict that it will sell plenty of tickets in its future runs at San Francisco Opera and Seattle Opera, and that is a good thing. I also think it's possible that it will get some revisions in the next few years, and I do think it can be significantly deepened and made more emotionally satisfying. I would want a better sense of what was going on inside Jobs himself, who remains enigmatic to the end.