This morning I read a rich and provocative essay by Bruce Robbins on television and the image of work. Robbins’s piece bounces captivatingly around among dozens of television shows, and it is therefore probably better that you read it than that I summarize it, but one of the elements that I would like to riff upon a little here is his take on what is a rightfully standard critique of a depressingly pervasive trope in television—the plot development (or just general theme) that prevents professionally competent women from having emotionally satisfying family lives or even agreeable romantic experiences. Robbins’s piece Read more