Arethusa’s Letter to her Husband Lycotas and the Lost Rights of the Roman Wife: An Analytical Study of Propertius' Elegy IV. 3 in the Light of the Feminism Theory

The Elegy, especially in the poems of Propertius, was concerned with women, as he presented in the fourth and last book of his Elegy several models for women, to represent the women's voice and highlight her various issues. The third poem of the fourth book, which presents the problem of the Roman wife whose husband ravels to join military campaigns for a long time, leaving her to suffer loneliness and hardship of life. In this poem, Propertius recognizes the rights of the Roman wife, whose husband joins the military campaigns, trying to give her a voice and improve the relationship between Roman husbands and wives.
This letter is consistent with feminist movement and feminist theory that demands women's social and political rights. It calls for equality between women and men.
Moreover, in this poem, Propertius presents his point of view regarding the Augustan wars, as he disapproves of those wars and prefers peace, and sees that the Roman Empire focuses on wars and neglects love and marriage, and rejects the Roman identity, which believes that the true masculinity lies in joining the military service only, therefore Propertius is considered one of the defenders of women's rights because he tries to give them an appropriate social status.