Professor Puder
English 0310
11 June 2014
The perfect wife “I want a wife”. This is Judy Brady’s phrase implied in her popular famine essay “why I want a wife”. Judy Brady 1937 was born in San Francisco and earned a B.F.A. from the University of Iowa in 1962. Brady's a feminist, a political and environmental activist—especially having to do with cancer-related issues, and a freelance writer. She's edited both Women and Cancer (1990) and One in Three: Women with Cancer Confront an Epidemic (1991). Brady's work has also appeared in periodicals such as Greenpeace Magazine and The Women's Review of Books. Her classic satirical essay "Why I Want a Wife" was first published in the first issue of Ms. Magazine in 1972 and reprinted as "Why I [Still] Want a Wife" in Ms. in 1990. Judy essay “Why I want a wife” explain the expectation of women from men in marriage. Brady mentions double standards for wives at 1971 in a sarcastic way and she also used figurative language like description which catches the reader’s attention. I believe that Brady is sarcastically describing the ideal wife every man dream of. Women have different roles in life, a very important role for a women is that being a wife. which make sure to take care of the family physical needs especially the husband. Bradley states “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs” I myself wouldn’t mind someone to take care of both my children and my needs. In this story the author uses sarcasm as she says that she want a wife who will work and send her to school so that she would not have to work and become economically independent which is somehow funny to expect the wife going to work so her husband can go to school. Furthermore, The author use figurative language by repeating the phrase “ I want a wife “that tell us that a women is supposed to work all the time in addition she lists and describes some jobs that the wife is supposed to do “I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone will continue to take care for me and my children when I need to rest” here the author is exaggerating because even during the free time she is treated like a slave that have to work all the time. At last, I definitely think that every man in the world would want a wife similar or even the same as the one Judy describes in her essay. I also think that women should be treated equally with men and all the things that Judy mentioned should be split up for both the husband and wife.
Brady, Judy. I Want a Wife (1971), 75 readings plus. Ed., Santi Buscemi and charlotte Smith. New york: McGraw Hill, 2013. 235-238
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