Is it just me or was 2008 the year of the wife? In the space of a few months, the spotlight has shifted from women as mothers, women juggling careers and families, and women who drink too much, to women in their role as wives. Please note, we’re not talking about couple-watching here. This is about a new interest in how females keep their men happy. The heat is off the yumminess and the mumminess and all eyes are on that thing that you thought had gone west with our mothers’ generation: the art of being a good wife.

    Take politicians’ wives. Previously they were expected to be solid and supportive in the background; now, thanks to Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown, they are judged on the intimacy and success of their relationships, as well as their ability to give a killer speech.

    Had Sarah Brown stepped up to the podium and given her “my husband . . . your prime minister” introduction a year ago, the response would have been cynical, but in the autumn of 2008, we leapt on this moment and devoured its “good wife” message.

    There is a new code for celebrity wives, too. Just look at Cheryl Cole and Tana Ramsay. At any other time, we would have expected them to walk out and move on to better things, but not in 2008. Now, the strong, right, image-enhancing thing to do is to stand by your man and quietly, steadily make it work. If the Wag was the heroine of 2007 (marriage optional), then in 2008 the Swot (suitable wife for our times) is the only woman anyone is interested in.

    This is not about “surrendered” wifeliness, but a new definition of having it all. The frenzied juggling that passed for modern marriage, the independent routines and houses in different cities (see the Beckhams, the Ritchies, the McCains), now has a whiff of the last century about it. We know those kind of relationships are either a living nightmare or a sham, and now it seems to jar with the purer, greener, Obama-coloured future. The good wife, Noughties-style, must have a job of her own (or at least some serious charity commitments), be able to raise a family and keep a house, plus be arm candy when required, smart enough to step in and give a strategic fillip to her husband’s career, publicly attentive, privately supportive — and that’s just the entry level.

    For those of us who are using the credit crunch as an excuse not to have our legs waxed and cook only pasta and bottled pesto, there is something called the “average and we’re fine, thanks” wife. Otherwise, here are the categories of wife that emerged this year.