Clement Rowe Mrs. Johnston English 101 10/23/2013 The essay by Judy Brady “I Want a Wife” contains very little organization. What organization it does have is only that which separates the duties of the so called “wife” into different categories such as house cleaning and caring for the physical needs of the husband and children. In trying to hook the reader into her essay, Brady at the beginning of her piece says, “I belong to that unique classification known as wives…” This hooks the reader because we assume that an essay titled “I Want a Wife” would be written by a man. That she is a wife means that she knows a lot about what it is to be a wife and is in a, not exactly unique, but defiantly better position than many to write on this subject. And in turn, this makes her very believable when reading the essay.
Parents seek desirable husbands for their daughter and send her away to live with him and her in-laws’. Mothers start teaching their daughters at a young age how to cook, clean, and how their future husband should be taken care of. Once they are married they then take on the role of being a 24/7 housewife who does everything around the house while waiting on everyones hand and foot. The husbands then go finish college get a job and “bring home the money.” This a real life situation that is occurring everyday not only in India but also other parts of the world and my strongly believe that needs to change. I personally do not follow this “rule” because I want to have a great future with a career where I will be treated with respect by all including men.
Maid to Order: The Politics of Other Women’s Work Luis Erazo Laredo Community College The main focus for Barbara Ehrenreich was on building awareness about the problems associated with females working as maids. Ehrenreich reflects on the sixties and seventies to explain the roots of this issue; when housework was not seen as a job, even though it was supposed to be “the great equalizer of women”. Women were cooking meals, caring for children and doing all sorts of other tasks in order to allow men to focus on their job. Without a paycheck for their house duties, women were made to feel as though they had no real value for the family. Today’s problem stems from companies like Merry Maids that
I believe that Brady is sarcastically describing the ideal wife every man dreams of. Brady is a wife herself, and in her essay she wishes she had a wife that she described. Brady brings out all the different roles of the American housewife. “Homeless” by Anna Quindlen the passage starts out with the author Anna Quindlen doing a story on homeless people. She finds a homeless person named Ann and confronts her about her being homeless.
They do not have the right to vote, make their own decisions, and they definitely cannot voice their individual opinions in society. Even the father of Pakistani girls believes that their daughters are nothing more than a future “breeding tool. The role of these young girls once married is to produce as many males as their body will allow. That way, the women in Pakistan grow up with the mentality that they are just the backstage crew in the production of life. Sadly, it seems that the women in Pakistan honestly believe that they are below the men in their country because they continue to allow this behavior to continue, without revolutionizing like the women in many other countries, including the US, once did.
What a wife it would be When a reader first looks at Brady’s essay one might think it was written by a man. However after reading the first paragraph the reader will realize that the author is indeed a woman and may be confused as to why the title is “Why I Want A Wife”. Brady gives a reasonable argument as to the unequal views on the roles of the husband and wife. By listing the many examples of a wife’s responsibilities, she hopes to sway a woman or man’s feelings and encourages them to perhaps modify the usual tradition of marriage and companionship. The audience she has chosen would most likely be women or married couples.
Since the husband’s role is to go out and provide a living for his family, the wives job is to look after the home. It may not be considered a public work, but her position within the home is still very vital and important. Her role is a non income producing activity, but ensures the success of the family. Another role for a Christian wife is the raising of her children. Titus 2: 3-5 states that, "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored," (The Christian Woman", 2004).
The Not So Average Wife According to Judy Brady, who wrote the essay, “Why I Want a Wife”, the list of a wife’s duties are all encompassing. Brady was a feminist who wrote this essay in 1971. While this essay is humorous, sarcastic and in some instances disturbing, it doesn’t accurately portray the duties of an average wife and mother, even in the 1970’s. The essay begins by letting us know she is a wife and mother. This gives the reader the information that the writer is experienced in both of these areas.
Or is she the hardworking career woman that works to provide her child with every opportunity possible? It is often debated whether a woman’s place is at home with her children. So when a child suffers educationally or emotionally people quickly attribute the problem to a busy mother not meeting the needs of her main priority, but is that really a true statement? Every mother’s ultimate goal is to make sure her child’s needs are met whether she’s a stay at home mother or a career oriented mother. Women have always been held higher in expectations than men, when it comes to parenting.
Romance and love were not the focus in a marriage but rather about power and control, usually within the husbands decisions. Women were identified as property and second-handed individuals at this time. Expectations of the wife were to produce children and be a satisfying partner, as the husband is in command of the household. Nevertheless as time passed on, marriage slowly transformed from being a social purpose to the pursuit of success in a satisfying marriage. Women were told that the key to happiness was being a good housewife and mother at this time.