I Want A Wife

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In the year 1972 an author Judy Brady wrote the article, “Why I Want A Wife,” which appeared in Ms. Magazine. In this article Brady cleverly writes about herself as a wife wanting a wife to do all the jobs she would rather not do as a wife. As ludicrous as this sounds, she truly is really writesing a humorous satire that relates to the mood of many women in the 1970’s who felt unappreciated and dictated by men on unrealistic expectations and demands on what it means to be a woman, a mother, and a wife. Brady uses pathos throughout her article to emotionally connect with the reader and to create sympathy and uses humor to strengthen her objective of showing how women’s roles are dictated by men in society.
Brady knows what she is oratingtalking about because she is not only referring to herself, but all the other women who feel burdened, and weighed down with so many …show more content…

Brady’s objective shows these daily duties and demands put on women not only can not be realistically met, but they demean women into a kind of slave worker rather than an equal partner in the marriage.
Another strategy Brady uses throughout this article is humor. TShe shows through ridicule and exaggeration, Brady shows how lopsided relationships are when it comes to women in how they are treated by men. The height of her frustration can especially be seen in her words about replacing an old wife with a new one. In her words about liberty: “I want the liberty to replace my present wife another one. Naturally I expect a fresh, new life: my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free” (Brady 230). Brady’s biting words reveal s the hypocrisy and double standards that men get away with and women would be sneered at for even attempting. Brady’s humor both disarms men’s foolish arguments while bolstering women’s liberation from the tyranny of men jumping from one marriage to

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