How many times have we been forced to sit through a movie about an unhappy, sexless marriage? That tired old trope of the frustrated husband and the nagging wife is far more damaging than it initially seems: not only does it reduce womankind to two-dimensional irritants, it also suggests that women are, essentially, beings free from desire, placed upon this earth to ‘serve’ their partners in the bedroom.

Not so for Morticia: all you have to do is look at her to see a woman who’s confident in addressing her desires, however sordid they may be – a point underlined wonderfully when, after Gomez makes reference to the “old ball and chain”, she coquettishly promises to go fetch them (more on that BDSM bombshell in a moment). Throughout, sex is played as something the couple does regularly and with open communication. Indeed, they never soften the truth for their children with stories of storks: Wednesday and Pugsley know exactly what goes into making a baby by the time their little brother is born.

Perhaps most importantly of all, though, is the fact that Morticia is keen to seek out sexual pleasure for herself and no one else – a trait which is innately feminist.

“Witches, sluts, and feminists are the trifecta of terror for the patriarchy,” historian Kristin J Sollee explains to The Guardian. “To me, the primal impulse behind each of these contested identities is self-sovereignty… witches, sluts, and feminists embody the potential for self-directed feminine power, and sexual and intellectual freedom.”

From feminism to BDSM: the powerful life lessons Morticia Addams taught us