This essay reads the confrontation of saint and persecutor in AElfric's Life of St Agatha in terms of a “shame-rage spiral”. In the context of the passio shame and rage function as part of the text's repertoire of signs, marking the evil of the pagan. However, an Anglo-Saxon audience, attuned to issues of honour, shame and vengeance, might also feel some sympathy towards him. Insofar as the audience recognize their kinship with the persecutor, the passio delivers them a stinging rebuke. We are alerted to the potential complexity of emotional responses even to such a conventional text.