Wives who defend

In the real world, the spectacle of a wife sticking up for a husband who faces allegations of sexual misconduct invariably evokes scorn

The Good Wife, a US television show that ran for seven seasons before ending in 2016, began with its protagonist Alicia Florrick standing by her state attorney husband when he gets hit with a sex and corruption scandal. He holds a press conference and Alicia stands next to him — pale, hollow-eyed, expressionless— seemingly in support of his glib rite of public contrition.

That opening scene was deceptive. Alicia goes on to live separately with her children, re-enters the legal career that she had given up to be a 24x7 wife and mother, has affairs of her own, and in