Women in ancient Rome it more praiseworthy to be a good husband than a good senator." A man of status during the Roman Republic was expected to behave moderately toward his wife and to define himself as a good husband. Wife beating was sufficient grounds for divorce or other legal action against the husband. Domestic abuse enters the historical record mainly when it involves the egregious excesses of the elite. The Emperor Nero was alleged to have had his first wife (and stepsister) Claudia Octavia murdered, after subjecting her to torture and imprisonment. Nero then married his pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina, whom he kicked
Sabina K. unsuccessful and Sabina spends several days in the hospital. While there, she is visited by her landlady, who informs her that since her lease will end in another week, she has decided to rent out Sabina's apartment to another family. Feeling abandoned by family and friends, and with no help from social services, Sabina wanders the streets of Sarajevo in the bitter cold of winter. There are no solutions... there is no refuge... and Sabina again makes plans to take her life. She sells the last of her jewelry and surreptitiously buys three times the amount of sleeping pills used