After Patrick O'Brian's wife Mary passed, his writing lost something. He is famous for the Aubrey-Maturin book series.
The books became darker, sure. But it also lost plot cohesion. There is proof his wife was the one tracking the various plot and continuity lines through his 21 volume Aubrey-Maturin series. The last three are not quite the coronation of a life's work they deserved them to be.
Unpaid? Did they not share household income/expenses, and in case of divorce, were entitled to part (half, I believe) of their ex-husband's wealth? In addition to child-support.
A compensation plan of "room and board + a cheque upon termination" would be considered a form of slavery in most of the first world. Purchasing decisions in single-income families are usually ultimately decided by the person with income, aren't they?
Yes, your wildly misleading characterization of marriage does sound bad. But here in the real world (at least the West, unlikely it applies to the Middle East), "Women drive 70-80 percent of all consumer purchasing, through a combination of their buying power and influence." [1]
By the way, nice rhetorical trick of reducing half of all of one's wealth, plus child support and/or alimony to "a cheque".
The books became darker, sure. But it also lost plot cohesion. There is proof his wife was the one tracking the various plot and continuity lines through his 21 volume Aubrey-Maturin series. The last three are not quite the coronation of a life's work they deserved them to be.