A History of the Wife

What it is about

A History of the Wife traces the wife as a role from Biblical and classical households through Christian Europe to modern companionate marriage. Marilyn Yalom follows duties, property, sexuality, and ideals of love that redefined what a wife was supposed to be. The book is narrative social history for readers who want the long arc behind today’s expectations of wives and husbands. It is not a marriage manual, not a feminist manifesto alone, and not advice for one couple’s weekly conflict.

Questions it can answer

• How has the role of wife changed from ancient households to companionate marriage?
• Which duties, property rules, and love ideals reshaped what a wife was supposed to be?
• Why is a long history of the role useful beside practical marriage guides?

What you will not find

• Exercises to renegotiate housework this week
• Legal forms for divorce or prenuptial agreements
• A claim that every past marriage was identical across cultures