Commentary on the Article: I Want a Wife by Judy Brady

818 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of I want a wife by Judy Brady

In I Want a Wife by Judy Brady, the author generates a captivating argument concerning a wife's responsibilities in a family household. The article was published in Ms. magazine in 1971, this magazine was a feminist which makes this biased. The article becomes visible to be leading towards women, married audience. Nonetheless, her message also goes to clueless men.

In Brady's short story the main argument was of the writer wanting eagerly a wife ,a caregiver, a maid. Bardy's reason for wanting a wife is to make life easier on herself and do the things she wants to do. This shows how much effort a housewife puts into their household and children. The Purpose of this short story goes more in depth such as a marriage relationships and gender specific, also this art of literature is provocative and makes you cross-examine your thoughts on wives.

Judy writes in her essay regarding the requirements that are demanded from a wife. She stresses the jobs of a wife are unfair and that there is a clear difference of inequality between a husband and wife. Fatigued by the inconsistency in the household work and the obvious work of a wife that does not get recognized, she communicates her feelings to us the readers. Brady shows her point with examples of household tasks that are mainly accomplished by a wife. Brady lists tasks after tasks which make it seems as being a wife is physically and mentally impossible, Brady then finishes her short story with a cry of desperation , "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?"

Being a housewife has its disadvantages such as working everyday without help nor acknowledgment from anyone. All around the world housewives are folding clothes, arranging closets, cleaning millions of surfaces and cooking every...

... middle of paper ...

...need a break and want someone who will do everything for them.

In conclusion, “I want a wife” goes more in depth of just the typical wanting a wife just because the tittle says so. It is more about the emotional pain a wife has to go trough to take care of her family. In the end Brady could have not stated it better, “My God, who wouldn't want a wife?”

Works Cited

Elizabeth , Scott. "Stay-At-Home Moms and Stress Relief."Stress Management. Relate, 08 Apr 2008. Web. 6 Mar 2014.

Gottman, John Mordechai, and Nan Silver. The seven principles for making marriage work. Random House LLC, 1999. Print.

Jhonson, Rachael. "Men are as Useless as Homer." . Associated Newspapers Ltd, 15 Jun 2013. Web. 6 Mar 2014.

Olsen, Wendy, and Smita Mehta. "Female Labour Participation in Rural and Urban India: Does Housewives' Work Count?." Radical Statistics 93 (2006): 57.

Show More
Related

  • Wife vs. Daughter in Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros and Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story ?Why I want a wife? by Judy Brady, she goes into detail what being a wife is like. The tedious details of day to day activities, the strain and hard work of being a ?good wife?, and the unappreciated service a wife must perform to be accepted by her husband. This story made me feel like, the author

    Read More

  • Check and Mate: A Case Study about Mother’s Revolt.

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    Johnson, Miriam M. Strong Mothers, Weak Wives: The Search for Gender Equality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Print.

    Read More

  • Redefining Traditional Marriage Roles in Western Society

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    For as long as we can remember, the idea that marriage is sacred, desirable, and even necessary has persisted in the western world. In a way, society has taught us that in order to live a normal, fulfilled life, one must find their soul mate, marry them, and spend the rest of eternity together. According to tradition, a perfect marriage is characterized by a husband that goes to work every day while the wife remains within the home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. Tradition has further dictated that once the husband returns from work, the wife has dinner ready and the family sits down around the table to share a meal together. American literature is full of stories that both play on or challenge these traditional roles within a marriage. But, one might ask, does

    Read More

  • The Story Of The Hour And The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s “The Story of the Hour” and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” are viewed from a woman’s perspective in the nineteenth century. They show the issues on how they are confined to the house. That they are to be stay at home wives and let the husband earn the household income. These stories are both written by American women and how their marriage was brought about. Their husbands were very controlling and treated them more like children instead of their wives. In the nineteenth century their behavior was considered normal at the time. In “The Story of the Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” both women explore their issues on wanting to be free from the control of their husband’s.

    Read More

  • The Women’s Rights Movement

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Judy Brady’s, “I Want A Wife” (1971) sarcasm or a humorous tone is expressed on the topic of what makes a wife. Brady repetitively states, “I want a wife” and begins to list what makes “a wife.” Brady defines a wife as someone who takes care of the children, cleans and cooks, gives up her ti...

    Read More

  • The Oppression of Wives in Chopin's The Story of an Hour and Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    Writings from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s often depict husbands as controlling. This would lead to the demise of their wives. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, the husband’s insistence upon control, leaves their wives longing for the freedom of simple expression. “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” illustrate how the husband is the controlling figure in the marriage. The two short stories also expose how the oppression put on them by their husband leaves the women unfulfilled and unhappy with their lives.

    Read More

  • Comparing Marriage In The Awakening And The Yellow Wallpaper

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    In class there have been many discussions over the relationships and marriages among the books we have read. When someone thinks of marriage, a fairy tale with a happy ending might come to mind, or possibly a safe haven for those looking for something stable. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, marriage takes a turn for the worse. Marriage is no longer the happy memories in a lifetime. It can be the thing that hinders the women in these stories from developing their full potential or experiencing the world and other lifestyles. Through these texts and this time frame, we will analyze the meaning of their marriages, how they function, and the end result of both.

    Read More

  • Insanity in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    In eighteen ninety - one, when the "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written, women were often treated as second - class citizens. They were, for the most part, dominated by a society controlled by men. The men were the leaders, ruling the home and the workplace; the women were under their authority. The wife, of whom this story is about, reflects this attitude society has towards her. Her husband even decides what furniture and things are to be in her room. She submits to those decisions, even to the point of agreeing with him. This is evidenced when she says, "But he is right enough about the beds and windows and things……I would not be so silly as to make him uncomfortable just for a whim"(472). Wives like this were regarded as possessions of the husbands, and, in light of that, they had few rights. Just as was the wife, many women were believed to be good only for bearing children and running a household. Often times the husband retained a housekeeper or some such servant so the wives only bore children and did little else. In the case of the wife in our story, her husband, John, ...

    Read More

  • Love, Death, and Divorce

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...show us that the choices for women in marriage were both limited and limiting in their scope and consequences. As can be seen, it came down to a choice between honoring the private will of the self, versus, honoring the traditions and requirements of society as a whole. Women were subject to the conditions set down by the man of the house and because of the social inequality of women as a gender class; few fought the rope that tied them down to house, hearth, and husband, despite these dysfunctions. They simply resigned themselves to not having a choice.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Judy Brady's I Want A Wife

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her classic essay first published in feminist magazine Ms., “I Want a Wife” Judy Brady declares the role of women in the 1970’s as viewed from a man’s point of view. This essay by Judy Brady is written from a feminist point of view portraying how men perceive women in their minds and how life is difficult as a wife:

    Read More

  • Comparing Story Of An Hour, And The Yellow Wallpaper

    332 Words  | 1 Pages

    The writing I have chosen is the journal entries of Hannah Tinti’s “Home Sweet Home,” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper.” I have selected these writings for the main focus of these writing is about the female protagonists and their mental war to be liberated from their oppressive husbands. In “Home Sweet Home,” the wife sees her husband having a malicious affair while she is taking care of his child born out of wedlock that she now loves and will seek vengeance by committing a double murder. In “The Story of an Hour,” the wife, with a heart condition, turned widow is distraught at the news of her late husband passing, but she then feels freedom in starting a new life without her husband

    Read More

  • Cousin Marshall and the Role of Responsibility, Charity, and Suffering

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martineau clearly had a strong political agenda in writing this story, however in doing so, she addresses the fundamental difference she sees in the roles of responsibility in marriage. In her mind, the husband and the wife have clearly defined roles, not so much along lines of production, but rather in terms of the household. That which is in the household, whether it is the domestic duties or financial responsibility, falls to the wife while it is the husband who is responsible for the income stream.

    Read More

  • The Treatment of Marriage in Two Literary Works

    2244 Words  | 5 Pages

    The short stories “Souls Belated” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” have in common ‘Marriage’ as main theme. However, the marriage is treated quite differently in both short stories. In "Souls Belated", Lydia chooses to take control of her destiny, to deviate from conventions and to choose what is good for her. She is the strongest character of the couple. Whereas, in "The Yellow Wallpaper", the name of the main character who is also the narrator of the story is not known. She is identified as being John’s wife. This woman, contrary to Lydia in "Souls Belated" is completely locked up in her marriage. This essay will first describe and compare the characters of Lydia and John's wife in the context of marriage, and then it will look at how marriage is described, treated and experienced by couples in these two short stories.

    Read More

  • A womans work is never done

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    More and more women work outside and inside the home. The double demands shouldered by these women pose a threat to their physical health. Whether you are an overworked housewife or an exhausted working mother the chances are that you are always one step behind your schedule. No matter how hard women worked, they never ended up with clean homes. Housewives in these miserable circumstances often became hysterical cleaners. They wore their lives away in an endless round of scouring, scrubbing, and polishing. The increased strain in working women comes from the reality that they carry most of the child-rearing and household responsibilities. According to social trends (1996), women always or usually do the washing in 79 percent of cases and decide the menu 59 percent of the time. Picking up the children at school or doing grocery shopping are just a few of the many typical household-tasks a woman takes on every day.

    Read More

  • How to Clean a House Properly

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    Back when my parents were little, it was not uncommon for the wife to stay at home and tend to the housework. Being a housewife requires certain skills for cleaning a house. Three rooms in particular are the kids’ room, the bathroom and the kitchen, all require certain cleaning products, equipment, and processes to clean properly.

    Read More

More about Commentary on the Article: I Want a Wife by Judy Brady

Open Document