“I couldn’t help but think of the day-to-day of these couples when I saw a new data essay from Pew Research about the persistence of the gender pay gap in our country, despite the fact that women are now a majority of the college-educated work force.” “While there are undoubtedly more female talents than ever who are able to be the creative and economic force in their unions, and more couples that are defying the old norms, I’m still struck by the residue of the perfect wife ideal” “Moore, who at the time was a single mom with a day job as a professor, said it was difficult to find space for her own creative work: ‘It’s hard,’ she explained. ‘I once said that I could get very self-pitying. There are some men I know who are teaching and writing who are single fathers. But not many. Most of them have these great devoted wives, some version of Vera Nabokov. Writers all need Vera. She famously taught some of his classes. He would say, ‘My assistant will be teaching the next class,’ and, apparently, when Nabokov gave the lectures, he needed notes. When Vera gave the lectures, no notes.’ For women, Veras are in short supply, and I don’t see that changing in the near term — though Ciuraru hopes that through her book she will encourage some people to take stock of their relationships: ‘I hope that if they are someone who harbors creative ambition, they will learn from these women not to wait and to try to make that work within their marriage and claim the space to do so,’ she told The Guardian. I hope so, too.”—Imagine What These Women Could’ve Done if They’d Had Wives