To what extent do the Roman sources praise women for the way they perform their duties and to what extent do they criticise them?

Writing under Augustus, Livy composed propogandic material depicting the actions of Cloelia when she acted as a hostage as part of the peace treaty between the Romans and the Etruscans. In the source Cloelia is praised for her act of ‘heroism’ when she ‘eluded the guards, and swam the Tiber amidst a rain of spears at the head of a group of other girls’. Rather than praising Cloelia for her defiant act of escape, which jeopardises the peace treaty, Livy places emphasis on her strong sense of piety. Cloelia’s piety manifests in the sense that she believed it was her duty to have ‘restored [the girls] to their families’ because familial devotion and female subservience were the cornerstones of Roman society. The extent of the praise is demonstrated by the ‘admiration’ of King of the Etruscans and shows how a woman can receive praise from a powerful man if she embodies the Roman female ideal. This serves to elevate Cloelia as an example to other women.However, the fact that Cloelia is praised ‘with a new kind of honour’ undermines the sense of equality between Cloelia and ‘Cocles or a Mucius’ that has been previously suggested.This makes it clear that despite her demonstration of a ‘male’ characteristic she remains unworthy of the same reward as such, therefore emphasising female subserviency in Roman society. The reliability of the source is also questionable, owing to the propogandic nature of Livy’s writing. Livy likely enhanced his praise of Cloelia so as to encourage the monarchistic female ideal that was being mandated by Augustus.