Gender
The speaker clearly has strong opinions and an intelligent mind. However, she can exercise little power in her own life, evidently because of her gender. She is married, seemingly against her wishes, to a man she finds revolting. Even so, only through her husband can she try (and even then, she fails) to exert influence on the world around her—for instance, by writing Pilate a note begging him to let Jesus live. This is despite the fact that Pilate himself is physically, morally, and intellectually weak, possessing none of the toughness traditionally associated with masculinity. The speaker feels genuinely seen and humanized only by Jesus himself. Tellingly, this character exists outside of polite society and therefore at a remove from gender norms. Indeed, even the reader is not given the chance to encounter her as a full person, since she is identified only as "Pilate's wife" rather than by name. Gendered oppression here is framed as the source of women's personal, political, and sexual powerlessness, exemplified by the speaker's plight.
Sexuality and Desire
This theme intersects with that of gender in the poem. After all, the speaker is coerced by gender norms into a marriage with Pilate, who sexually repels her. She is awakened sexually by her encounter with Jesus. This encounter insinuates that desire is a complex phenomenon. Firstly, the speaker identifies Jesus as "ugly," meaning that her desire for him is connected not to objective attractiveness but to a deeper and more elusive quality. Secondly, her attraction to him occurs alongside prophetic dreams and a feeling of moral urgency as she tries to save him, so that desire seems to catalyze decisive non-sexual action as well. In other words, sexuality here is depicted as very much intertwined with moral and even religious feeling.
The Role of the Bystander
This poem presents three different types of bystanders, portraying the role of the bystander as an active rather than passive one. The first type of bystander, and the most sympathetic, actively intervenes on behalf of justice. The speaker exemplifies this response, using her limited power to attempt to save Jesus from execution. The second role is one of total bloodthirstiness, as exemplified by the jeering crowd at the execution. The poem does not depict the crowd in a flattering light, but its harshest condemnation is reserved for Pilate, who occupies a position of power, and who—in contrast to the animalistic mob—is well aware of the injustice he is sanctioning. Pilate chooses not to use his political power or his capacity for independent thought, allowing the execution to go forward. Displaying the weakness that his wife so disdains, he attempts to literally and figuratively keep his hands clean, absolving himself of guilt while acquiescing to injustice.
