The Atlantic

What Was the Most Influential Power Couple in History?

A big question
Source: Graham Roumieu

Lisa Grunwald, co-author, The Marriage Book

Adam and Eve were responsible, literally or metaphorically, for—in no particular order—the subservience of women; the pain of childbirth; the concepts of sin, shame, and clothing; a lot of great artwork; and oh yes, procreation, without which there would have been no one else to influence.


Jeffrey Eugenides, author, The Marriage Plot

I nominate Adam and Eve. My second choice is the woman often referred

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic3 min read
They Rode the Rails, Made Friends, and Fell Out of Love With America
The open road is the great American literary device. Whether the example is Jack Kerouac or Tracy Chapman, the national canon is full of travel tales that observe America’s idiosyncrasies and inequalities, its dark corners and lost wanderers, but ult
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was

Related Books & Audiobooks