The First Ms. Reader, Why I Want A Wife

If one were to questions a man’s intentions when it comes to marriage, he would almost certainly speak humbly and nobly about a life of companionship, about starting a family, about a life of love and joy and happiness, while making sure that you know that all of this will be in sickness and in health. Although this is what we hear, and the romantic in all of us hopes that this is always the case, we sometimes have to wonder: were there other reasons why men in the 1970’s actually wanted a wife? In her article for The First Ms. Reader, Why I Want a Wife, Judy Syfers clearly and effectively uses irony, repetition and tone to expose the true nature of men and their attitude towards their significant others in the 1970’s, showcasing the idea that marriage isn’t always this idealized practice often think of it as.

Immediately after reading the title, the outlook on the entire essays changes and begins to ooze irony because the reader realizes that this is a woman, who is a wife, writing about wanting a wife of her own. However, this irony establishes credibility to Syfers, because who could possibly know more about a wife than a wife herself? Syfers also uses irony to take on the male perspective, displaying how misogynistic and conceited men were at the time. There are multiple uses of ironic phrases such as “Of course,” “after all,” and “needless to say,” which establishes how diluted men were in assuming the cooperation and obedience of women to tend to the men’s strenuous lifestyle. These assumptions made by husbands at the time, also go hand in hand with the repetition the Syfers uses throughout the