Since it's for your wife, who's not likely going to like reloading a Marlin 60 (15rnds in a tube vs. 10rnds in a detach mag), the 10/22 is a great rifle. I would honestly suggest their target model, but that's just me...OR I would suggest the Marlin 7000, which is $160 new from wally world, and is every bit as accurate as the 10/22 target version (has a stacked detach mag), vs. the 10/22 standard's $200 or the target version at $325.

The marlin 60's are hard to beat, VERY cheap, so if she doesn't shoot much, you don't have an expensive gun sitting around rusting, and they're tough enough and accurate enough to handle VERY extensive use and make those little shots that mean a lot. It's a little more time consuming to reload it, but speed loaders help, and the small size of the rifle (girth not length) makes it a little nicer to handle than the 10/22's, IMHO.