Modern Protestant debates about spousal relations and the meaning of marriage began in a forgotten international dispute some 300 years ago. The Lutheran-Pietist ideal of marriage as friendship and mutual pursuit of holiness battled with the idea that submission defined spousal roles. In the contexts of early modern Europe and Pietist missions in India and North America this dispute triggered an enormous debate that has largely been forgotten. Hopes for Better Spouses recovers those exchanges and consequences, supported by broad research data.