Wife Wooing - John Updike

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1. What impression is given of the narrator’s wife in „Wife-Wooing“ and how is it conveyed? In the short story “Wife Wooing” John Updike presents an image of a responsible, caretaking wife and mother which serves the housewife’s stereotypical gender role within a typical nuclear family. This impression is given through the perspective of the narrating husband, yet in a very subjective and superficial way that is highly influenced by the narrator’s need for affection. In the story’s domestic setting the wife appears to be a very caretaking mother and housewife. When the family gathers around the fireplace to share a takeout dinner she feeds the children and is more concerned about their wellbeing than being responsive to her husband’s attempt to talk about a romantic moment on their honeymoon. This notion is supported by the narrator’s assumption that she loves the baby more than him. Fulfilling her housekeeping duties she prepares the breakfast in the morning and serves “supper as a waitress”. This creates an image of a dutiful housewife that serves the stereotypical gender role within a nuclear family. On the other hand she does not fit into that ancient stereotypical image of an obedient, close-minded housewife as she appears to possess intellectualism. Describing her pleasure to read a book about Richard Nixon shows her recurrent pursuit of knowledge. This somehow demonstrates that she is not dominated by her husband but rather holds an equal status within their marriage as a sophisticated woman. The description of her outer appearance is very much influenced by the varying moods of the narrating husband. During the evening the husband sees his wife as an object of lust and hopes that they hoard their energy “towards a more ecstatic spending”. According to his need for affection he describes a very attractive, seductive woman, despite the knowledge that

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