Dimension X: Marionettes, Inc. (Ray Bradbury, adapted by George Lefferts)

[james_davis_nicoll]

Marionettes, Inc.

A husband plagued by a suddenly too-affectionate wife learn that his friend, also married to an insufficiently considerate wife, has a solution for his problem: a realistic robot replica able to pass as the husband and every bit - arguably more - in love with his wife as the human original! I can see no way in which this cunning scheme can go horribly wrong!

I was struck by the tone of horror that crept into the protagonist's voice when he asked if his pal was divorced. If divorce had been an acceptable option, nobody would have been buying robot replicas to distract their spouses.

Comments

[tceisele.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that about stories from before the 1970s, too, particularly murder mysteries. They are full of people coming up with creative ways to dispose of their spouses (generally in ways that can be chalked up to "accident" or "natural causes") rather than just divorcing them. It makes me wonder whether public acceptance of divorce just might be saving a significant number of lives.