<P> Many scholars have examined the male modification and transmission of a female martyrdom story that challenged power dynamics and gender hierarchies within the organized church . This issue of gender may have influenced the redaction tendencies of the editor . Brent Shaw argues that the editor of the story rewrites Perpetua's experience in such a way that affirms the technical value of her martyrdom while simultaneously presenting her actions as unnatural . Furthermore, the dream vision of Saturus is considered to be the result of editorial activity, unlikely to have been written by Saturus himself because of its distinctive construction and impersonal bent . If the editor is male, he may have been seeking to show that men and women, rather than women alone, are responsible for the dreams and visions received in the narrative . Others argue that Felicity may have been the initial source for the dream, an attribution changed by the editor in order to circumvent the problematic implications of a female slave who can receive visions . </P> <P> The date of their martyrdom is traditionally given as 203 AD . The association of the martyrdom with a birthday festival of the Emperor Geta, however, might seem to place it after 209, when Geta was made "Augustus" (having held the junior title Caesar since 198 when his elder brother had been made "Augustus"), though before 211, when he was assassinated . The Acta notes that the martyrdom occurred in the year when Minucius Timinianus was proconsul in the Roman province of Africa, but Timinianus is not otherwise attested in history . Werner Eck notes that the Greek version of the Acta calls the proconsul Μινούκιος Ὀππιανός, or Minucius Opimianus, who is recorded as proconsul for 202 / 203 . The Golden Legend, however, places the martyrdom in 256, under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus . </P> <P> In the Passion, Christian faith motivates the martyrs to reject family loyalties and acknowledge a higher authority . In the text, Perpetua's relationship with her father is the most prominently featured of all her familial ties, and she directly interacts with him four times (iii, v, vi, and ix). Perpetua herself may have deemed this relationship to be her most important, given what is known about its importance within Roman society . Fathers expected that their daughters would care for them, honor them, and enhance their family reputation through marriage . In becoming a martyr, Perpetua failed to conform to society's expectations . Perpetua and Felicity also defer their roles as mothers to remain loyal to Christ, leaving behind young children at the time of their death . </P> <P> Although the narrator does describe Perpetua as "honorably married", no husband appears in the text . Possible explanations include that her husband was attempting to distance himself from the proceedings as a non-Christian, that he was away on business, or that her mention of him was edited out; because Perpetua was called the bride of Christ, omission of her husband may have been intended to reduce any sexual implications (xviii). Regardless, the absence of a husband in the text leads Perpetua to assume new family loyalties and a new identity in relation to Christ . </P>

The passion of saints perpetua and felicitas summary