'Victims Of Love'

"But it is those 20th-century heterosexual relationships, charged by sexual passion and either flittering out when that passion dies, or, in some cases, imploding with horrific consequences, that are the most complex, the most teasing, and ultimately the ones that intrigue us most. Above and beyond their work, West, Mansfield, Rhys, Beauvoir, Gellhorn, Plath and Smart are famous for being essentially 'victims of love'. "

- In The Independent, Lesley McDowell assesses literary partnerships from a feminist perspective. (No, Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi aren't mentioned. Authors of cookbooks don't count, one supposes.)