A male dominated society did exist in Bible times, and haven't we seen an abuse of a God honouring headship arrangement. Pauls letters and his dicussion of various subjects are often hard to understand even the apostle Peter admitted that, Paul had a lawyers mind. Bible scholars are uncertain as the whether Paul was married or not, but being a pharisee the chances were high that he was or had been. Ephesians makes it clear that a wife's role is to be submissive to her husband but the husband is to love his wife as his own body.
However, is Ephesians 5 v 26 saying that a wife is only holy if her husband loves her? Certainly any married or single Christian woman would disagree with that. I can't help feeling that Paul was using the relationship between Christ and the church to highlight the precious relationship between himself and the church being the saviour of that body. However was paul indicating that the husbands headship saves his wife? This would contradict other scriptures. a woman is honoured made or presented holy by her husbands proper treatment of her, but if the Holy Spirit is indwelling within her already i.e. called to faith, she is already holy, this again would contradict scripture if it were not so. 2cor 11v2 paul says how he would like to present the congregation there, a chaste or pure virgin to Christ, did that mean it was paul making them pure or just hoping to present them as pure? In eph 5v30. just after paul refers that husband and wife are are members of Christs body.
In Ephesians 5 v 31 Paul then speaks about the husband and wife arrangement before the fall. But is was not the husband and wife arrangement paul thought was a mystery, but it was the revealing of the church, that was the mystery that blew pauls mind that was only alluded to in the hebrew scriptures but now was made manifest by the Holy spirit and in the new testament to come. However the main thread of this topic was should a christian wife submit to continued abuse by her believing or unbelieving husband? Was paul really saying yes she should? or is that the interpretation of only an cultist mind or of a chauvinist society? Womens roles in society today is undergoing many changes, many of these changes are for the good, even in the church women who are part of the congregation are rightfully enjoying more respect and their activity is honouring God.