I call it the Casaubon Complex, or possibly Syndrome
Came across a tweet lately that apparently the latest idea of the ideal trophy wife for 'tech bros' is a brilliant high-flying woman with an amazing career who will give it up to have their babies.
- And after I had disposed of the sickbag in a tidy and hygienic fashion -
- Especially taking into account the comments that said that even high-powered laydeez probably wished to spend time enjoying the joys of motherhood (while not expressing any notion that high-powered blokes might spend the odd moment enjoying the joys of fatherhood, beyond the sensation of having achieved paternity) -
- and the ones that were veering off into very dodgy eugenicist territory about picking the best vessels for super-sperm -
I thought to myself, how is this new, across a whole range of human endeavours, that men marry women who are as good as, or even superior to, them, in order that they may be that line in the acknowledgements to their work, whatever it is 'and my wife, without whom' etc. (As well as bearing the fruit of their loins, and keeping it out of the great man's way while he does His Important Stuff.)
(I will also give a shout-out to sisters, e.g. Sophie Brahe and Caroline Herschel.)
But on wives as helpmeets and handmaidens, I was particularly struck by the following, from Patricia Fara's Pandora's Breeches, on Mary, the wife of the nineteenth century geologist Charles Lyell: She translated foreign works that he could not understand, she illustrated his books because he could not draw, she edited his writing to ensure that it was stylishly written and error-free, she became more expert than him on conchology, and she classified his specimens to save him the trouble.
a not atypical Victorian scientific wife, and a pattern of many wives who facilitated the careers of 'Great Men'. Not just sitting around being a beautiful inspiring Angel in the House. This entry was originally posted at https://oursin.dreamwidth.org/2888936.html. Please comment there using OpenID. View
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