A Voice in the Wind

A Voice in the Wind (originally published in 1993) by American author Francine Rivers is an amalgam of history, Christian allegory, and romance novel. Set in ancient Rome, the novel uses the decadence and cruelty of the Roman Empire as a backdrop for a tale of religious persecution, forbidden love, and the triumph of faith. Rivers has written extensively in the Christian fiction genre, producing four multi-book series and several stand-alone novels, including Redeeming Love (1991), The Last Sin Eater (1998), and The Masterpiece (2018), and the book’s plot and message align closely with Christian ideology. A Voice in the Wind is the first book in the Mark of the Lion series, followed by An Echo in the Darkness (1994) and As Sure as the Dawn (1995).

Plot Summary

Hadassah, a Christian living in Judea during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, is captured, marched to Rome, and enslaved to a wealthy Roman family, the Valerians: Decimus, Phoebe, and their adult children, Marcus and Julia. The spoiled and petulant Julia claims Hadassah as her personal servant, and Hadassah begins her service to the Valerian household, living under the constant threat of punishment and death.

Meanwhile, Atretes, a tribal warrior living in the forests of Germania—territory claimed by Rome—leads a ragtag group of clans on raids against the occupying Roman legions. In one ambush, he too is captured and sold into enslavement. Because of his almost superhuman fighting ability, he is sold to a ludus, a school for gladiator training, destined for a life of blood sport for the entertainment of the Roman mob. Despite savage beatings for numerous escape attempts, Atretes is unbowed and swears revenge against his captors. One morning during training, Atretes spars with his sadistic trainer, Tharacus, and kills him, a feat which earns him a transfer to a ludus in Rome under the tutelage of Bato, an Ethiopian trainer who is smarter and less cruel than Tharacus. One day, shortly before Atretes is transferred, Julia notices him training near Capua and is smitten by the warrior’s physical power and beauty.

In the Valerian household, the headstrong Marcus battles with his father over his business ventures. His father is concerned about his children’s sole pursuit of pleasure and money. Marcus is also intrigued by the quiet magnetism of Hadassah. He watches her pray in the garden and questions her about her faith. He knows he could order her to his bed, but she is somehow different from the other servants in the house, and he refrains from sexual coercion.

Believing it high time his daughter is wed, Decimus arranges a marriage between Julia and the older, wealthy Claudius, an arrangement Julia, forever battling for independence from the strict gender roles of Roman society, fights tooth and nail. However, the marriage takes place, and Julia takes Hadassah with her to begin her new life. The marriage is a disaster from the beginning. To Julia, Claudius is too old, too intellectual, and too boring. Julia, feeling claustrophobic in Claudius’s Capua villa, longs for the excitement of Rome and begs Marcus to take her to the ludus. When he refuses, she decides to go on her own, in a serious breach of protocol. When she doesn’t return, Claudius, who had been away for the morning, goes after her but is thrown from his horse, breaks his neck, and dies. Now a widow, Julia inherits Claudius’s estate but moves back home with Decimus and Phoebe, and Marcus takes charge of her financial affairs.

Julia is introduced to Calabah, an older, eccentric woman with subversive views on women’s rights. Julia is enthralled and soon becomes a regular guest in Calabah’s home. Marcus, however, has heard rumors about her and warns Julia to stay away, but she ignores his advice. Calabah introduces Julia to her friend Caius, a handsome, charismatic figure who woos Julia immediately. Despite Marcus’s suspicions about Caius, Julia, who falls in love with an intensity not unusual for her teen years, accepts his proposal of marriage. Decimus, who has grown fond of Hadassah, refuses to allow Julia to take her servant with her. Marcus realizes he is in love with Hadassah and is also glad to have her nearby. Julia chafes at her father’s demand but ultimately agrees.

Julia soon learns that Caius has hidden his true nature behind a façade of charm. Once married, his gambling debts begin to drain Julia’s fortune, and his abusive side reveals itself. Julia is torn between fear of his angry outbursts and the love she still feels for him—he always apologizes after each beating and swears his love. Still, Julia is becoming more and more uncertain about her marriage, and when she becomes pregnant, the thought of bearing a child repulses her. Calabah suggests an abortion and even offers to hire a “physician” to administer the proper herbs. Hadassah, who has been brought back into Julia’s service, is aghast and begs Julia not to go through with it, but Calabah’s advice holds greater sway. Julia terminates the pregnancy and orders Hadassah to bury the fetus in the garden.

Atretes has become the reigning champion of the arena. As a celebrity, he is invited to parties, his very image a commodity to be sold. As much as he still craves revenge against Rome, Bato advises him to remain patient and try to earn his freedom. The only thing keeping him from a dishonorable death of crucifixion or being fed to the lions is the emperor’s reluctance to defy the will of the mob. As long as he remains popular, his life is spared, but it is a tenuous guarantee.

One day, Hadassah finds Caius in a murderous rage; he beats Julia after she flirted with one of Caius’s business associates. Hadassah throws herself over Julia’s body and bears the brunt of the beating, nearly dying. Unable to continue in her marriage any longer, Julia seeks the advice of Calabah, who suggests she slowly poison Caius to death. It will look like natural causes, she claims, and as a woman, Julia will have no rights until she is released from the yoke of marriage. Calabah is persuasive, and Julia finally agrees. Caius’s death is slow and painful, and Julia is unprepared for the guilt she feels.

Atretes is sold to an Ephesian. Meanwhile, Decimus’s health declines, and he decides to relocate to Ephesus, his birthplace. Marcus advises against it, but his father is adamant. Julia, now a widow for the second time, agrees to the move, hoping to escape the ghosts of her past and the insidious influence of Calabah. Marcus also decides to come along, not wanting to be separated from Hadassah whom he loves; he suspects Hadassah loves him in return. Hadassah is torn between her love of Marcus and her faith, which forbids intimacy between people outside the sanctity of marriage.

One day, Calabah shows up at Julia’s doorstep and exerts her influence once again, luring Julia into the arms of Primus, a gay man who, she argues, would make an ideal husband—there would be no sexual or financial demands, and Julia would be free to continue her affair with Atretes. Much to the horror of Marcus and her parents, Julia agrees. Atretes, meanwhile, is scheduled to fight in a special “elimination” match: The last man standing out of 12 pairs of gladiators earns his freedom. Julia is excited about the prospect of Atretes as a free man, but Calabah argues that he is still a “barbarian,” and that he would be just as controlling and possessive as Caius. Julia decides to maintain her marriage to Primus even after she discovers she is pregnant with Atretes’s child.

Atretes wins his freedom and a great deal of cash in the elimination match and buys his own house, intending to marry Julia. When he finds out she has married Primus in secret, he storms off in a rage, foreswears his love for her, burns down his house, and retreats into the mountains, adopting his former tribal identity from before he was corrupted by the status and celebrity of Rome.

Julia gives birth to a healthy son, but she renounces any claim to the child, ordering Hadassah to leave him on a rock to die. Appalled, Hadassah instead visits John and gives the child to a grieving couple in his care whose child has just died. She then visits Atretes in the mountains and tries to smooth things over between him and Julia, but Atretes vows to never see Julia again. She sees his rage and bitterness and tries to persuade him to accept Jesus, but he is not ready to move beyond his bitterness.

Marcus convinces Julia to free Hadassah so he can marry her. She agrees, but Hadassah, as much as she loves Marcus, cannot consent until he accepts God into his life. Marcus is willing to tolerate Hadassah’s beliefs but cannot share them himself, and that is an obstacle Hadassah cannot get past. Angry at her rejection, Marcus walks away, leaving Hadassah to a god he can never understand. Julia overhears the exchange and decides to exact revenge on Hadassah for rejecting her brother. She brings Hadassah to a party whose host has a bitter hatred for Jews. When he sees Hadassah there—a clear affront to him—he challenges her to offer a tribute to the emperor. Hadassah knows that refusal will mean death, but in this moment of trial, she finds her courage and proclaims God as her savior. She is thrown in a cell and condemned to die in the arena. The next day, Julia takes Marcus to the games, convinced he will relish watching Hadassah die, but when he sees her led out to face the lions, he is so enraged by his sister’s betrayal, he rejects her completely. As Hadassah calmly faces the lions, Julia is left pleading for her brother’s love. Marcus wanders the streets of Ephesus, bereft in the knowledge that he has been complicit in Hadassah’s death.