Katie Luther's strong personality has already been alluded to, but I thought I would develop that a bit more. Rebecca Johnson (Leben 4:1) describes Katie as brewing beer, driving a wagon, buying cattle, loving her husband, and raising her six children with kindness. She had a quick wit, and Katie and Martin were known for their sarcastic exchanges.
Martin would often tease his wife by calling her names such as:"my lord Katy" (spellings of her name are abundantly various), "my empress Katy," "my lord and Moses Katy." And on at least one most flowery and regal occasion she was dubbed by her husband "My kind and dear lord and master Katy, Lutheress, doctress, and priestess at Wittenberg."
It's funny to note Luther's candidness in the progress of their relationship: "Had I desired to marry fourteen years ago, I would have chosen Eva von Schoenfeld, now Basilius' wife. At that time I did not love my Catherine at all." Yet he did choose to love her and found her to be a loving companion in return and a very capable manager of his household.
She was probably a much stronger personality than would be considered acceptable in most circles today that seek to teach and obey God's design for loving leadership on the part of the husband and respectful submission on the part of the wife. Yet, I think that Luther was a strong enough leader to fulfill his role in the family without forcing his wife to fit some caricature of submission. Some of us ladies might do well to tone down our Katie-ish tendencies in order to leave room for our husbands to grow strong in their leadership, but the key is being responsive to our own husband, wherever he is at--not matching ourselves to another lady (real or fictitious) who seems to fit some preconceived notion of what submission should look like.
Martin, for one, seemed quite satisfied with their relationship: "I would not want to exchange my Katie for France nor for Venice to boot; to begin with (1) because God has given her to me and me to her; (2) because I often find that there are more shortcomings in other women than in my Katie; and although she, of course, has some too, these are nonetheless offset by far greater virtues; (3) because she keeps faith and honor in our marriage relation."
"The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." Proverbs 14:1
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