I want a wife
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essay “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady. I thought it was so interesting how she shared her feelings on a woman’s role in society by writing her thoughts in the form of a sarcastic and yet compelling essay. She was able to make her feelings very clear without writing in a format similar to a research paper, listing off the unfairnesses of the lives of housewives. Also, I felt that the style in which she wrote this essay was especially good because she was able to list her grievances in a way that did not offend women who, perhaps, might enjoy their domestic lifestyle.
She starts the essay by introducing herself to the reader by letting them know that she is both a wife and a mother. She then goes on to describe how recently a male friend of hers divorced his wife, and how he is now looking to find another as a replacement. She describes how this got her thinking about her own life and how she, too, would like to have a wife. The rest of the essay is basically a list of all of the reasons why she would like to have a wife. For example, she would like to have a wife so that she could go back to school and have someone to take care of all of the housework, children etc. Some of the things that she listed sounded very much like details that she took from her own life. For example, on page 58 she states, “And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.” It sounds to me like this is a chore that she sometimes did for her husband. I am curious what type of reaction her husband had when he read this.
The list of wifely duties goes on and on. Then in the last few paragraphs Brady states that, “If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life: my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.” I think this paragraph may be a
She starts the essay by introducing herself to the reader by letting them know that she is both a wife and a mother. She then goes on to describe how recently a male friend of hers divorced his wife, and how he is now looking to find another as a replacement. She describes how this got her thinking about her own life and how she, too, would like to have a wife. The rest of the essay is basically a list of all of the reasons why she would like to have a wife. For example, she would like to have a wife so that she could go back to school and have someone to take care of all of the housework, children etc. Some of the things that she listed sounded very much like details that she took from her own life. For example, on page 58 she states, “And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.” It sounds to me like this is a chore that she sometimes did for her husband. I am curious what type of reaction her husband had when he read this.
The list of wifely duties goes on and on. Then in the last few paragraphs Brady states that, “If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life: my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.” I think this paragraph may be a