What’s the end game here? Are characters not allowed to have dead wives? Is a dead wife only permitted if her death does not motivate or otherwise inform the husband’s behavior? Wives dead by natural causes only, no sads allowed? Is it a gendered constraint i.e. female characters are allowed to have dead husbands? Is it okay if the dead wife is heavily developed in flashbacks? How much of the run time must be dedicated to fleshing out the dead wife’s character before it all stops being problematic?

The only problem with this trope is that it generates characters and stories that upset progressive feminists. What the really want to say is “no masculine male characters at the center of your story”, but that doesn’t fly. So they come at you sideways with these insane constraints, and if you follow them to the letter? Surprise! You end up with a feminist story about obnoxious girl bosses and emasculated soy boys.