Abstract
At the ETH in Zürich. the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, it is common knowledge that Einstein said about the mathematical side of his work: 'My wife solves all my mathematical problems.' The man becamefamous and is numbered among the great - -the woman became invisible, sheis unknown and unheard of. The man achieved - the woman worked to support herself and their children. We see in the two life stories the familiar patterns that lead to the construction of success for men and the deconstruction of success for women. (These are edited extracts from an article to be published in Women's Studies International Forum Vol 13 No 5.)