Rhetorical Analysis of I Want a Wife

Rhetorical Analysis of I Want a Wife

Exigence: Judy Brady writes in her article about the demands that are required from women. She stresses the point that the roles of women are unfair to the role of men. Also, that there is a distinct difference, inequality, between the roles of men and women. She writes about this because she is tired of the feeling inferiority to men and that the work that women undertake is overlooked. She illustrates her point by listing the numerous tasks that are commonly expected from women. "I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it (p.274)." After listing the numerous outrageous tasks, she ends the article with an emotional statement, "My God, who wouldn't want a wife? (p.275)"

Audience: Clearly Judy Brady is writing to married men and women. This can be inferred because the article is about expectations of a wife in a marriage. But not only does she write for married couples, she also writes to men and women in general. She is trying to get out to the public that these expectations and these stereotypes of roles of women, should stop. This goes back to her exigence, which is the unfairness of roles of women.

Purpose: Why should people read and act upon her statements? With her arguments, she is trying to say, "All women stop! You don't have to act this way (p.275)." She wants women to stop immediately acting as 'slaves.' Her constant phrase "I want a wife to..." rattles up emotions of readers, which in turn, might encourage people to take action. The reason she wants people to read it is because she wants people to understand that the roles of women is demoralizing to them.

Ethos: She establishes her credibility in the first couple of paragraphs of her argument. "I belong to that classification of people know as wives. I am A Wife, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother (p.273)." Not only does her being a wife make her creditable, she also seems to have a lot of knowledge. And all that knowledge of what the wife roles are does not come from anywhere. She must have experienced it herself to know what the roles of women are. She lists numerous 'jobs' that are expected of a wife and her language sounds that of a fed up and annoyed wife. In addition, her article was printed in the spring 1972 issue of Ms. magazine which sets her credibility for the article. Moreover, she was an activist for the feminist movement.

Pathos: When reading her article, she wants people to take action. She wants people to get angry at the topic. She also wants the men who expect this from women to feel jealous. She does this by first stating who she is. "I belong to that classification of people know as wives (p.273)." The she goes on by listing the 'jobs' required by women. After couple pages of 'jobs' she says, "My God, who wouldn't want a wife? (p.275)" This ending is very emotional towards the argument and it enables the readers to conclude that, "This is wrong!" She says that to 'demoralize' men who think the practice of treating women as inferior human beings. Brandy also appeals to readers who are curious or clueless. Many women do not now what things they are doing wrong. By reading the article, women can evaluate their life and determine if they are expected too much from their family.

Logos: Judy Brady arguments are clear in her article. One of her arguments is that women are required to do too much. She doesn't say this directly, but says this by listing the role of women. Another argument that she presents is the inequality of men and women. In her article she writes that she is a man that wants to go to school and be supported financially. And there is a female spouse that must take care of the house, kids, appointments, money, and social life. She argues that this must stop and that people are expecting too much from women. Her arguments are very effective. Her credibility attracts readers to her article. And by listing the 'jobs' of women, one by one; she captivates her readers into her arguments. Her simple words are extremely effective in getting out her views.