I Want a Wife: Summary, Questions & Answers

I want a Wife                      Judy Brady

Summary

Judy Brady's essay "I Want A Wife" first appeared in the Ms. Magazine's inaugural issue in 1971. The genre of the article is a classic piece of feminist humor and is depicted as satirical prose. In this essay Brady aims to convince her readers to look objectively at a man's viewpoints and expectations of what he thinks a wife is and what she should be. Brady skillfully uses clear arguments, repetition of key words and stylish language to make her essay strong and convincing.

Juity Brady writes in her essay about the demands that are required from wife. She emphasizes the point that the roles of wife are unfair to the role of husband, and that there is an obvious difference, inequality, between the roles of husband and wife. Brady writes about this because she is tired of the feeling of inferiority to men and that the work that wife undertakes is overlooked. Brady illustrates her point by listing the numerous tasks that are commonly expected from wife. "I want a wife who will have the house clean, 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. "After listing all this numerous outrageous tasks, she concludes the article with an emotional statement, "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?"

She establishes her credibility in the first couple of paragraphs of her argument. "I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am a Wife, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother. " Not only does her being a wife make her creditable, she also seems to have a lot of knowledge and this gives the audience to know that she really knows something about her subject. 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.

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.

I want a Wife

A. Comprehension:

Q.1. In one sentence, define what Brady means by wife. Does this ideal wife actually exist? Explain.

ANSWER : Brady is referring to a woman who makes a disproportionate amount of sacrifices for her husband in order to keep him happy; she bends constantly to his needs and takes complete control over care for the children and housework. This ideal does not exist; managing all of the tasks and responsibilities that Brady mentions would be next to impossible. Brady also describes the "wife" doing all these things being quite content about it all, which is difficult to imagine.

Q.2. List some of the specific duties of the wife Brady describes. Into what five general categories does Brady arrange these duties?

ANSWER : A few of the duties Brady describes the wife doing are keeping track of appointments, cooking dinner, hosting parties, and keeping the home clean. These tasks are divided into the following categories: childcare, housework, sexual availability, appointment/event organization, and putting her career aside.

Q.3. What complaints does Brady apparently have about the life she actually leads? To what does she seem to attribute her problems?

ANSWER : Her most obvious reason for "wanting a wife" is her desire to go back to school; she doesn't currently have the means to do. Her other complaints seem to stem from the smaller obligations she has in her daily life that husbands are generally not expected to have to worry about in the same way what wives are. She feels overwhelmed by how she is expected to stay on top of housework, arrange appointments for the entire family, plan and cook meals, and to pt her own career aside for the sake of her husband. She seems to attribute this problem to the unjust distribution of household-centric labor between husbands and wives.

Q.4. Under what circumstances does Brady say she would consider leaving her wife? What would happen to the children if she left?

ANSWER : Brady says that she would consider leaving her wife if she found a different woman "more suitable as a wife" than the one she has; she would leave her first wife solely responsible for the children.

B. Purpose and Audience :

Q.1. This essay was first published in Ms. magazine. In what sense is it appropriate for the audience of this feminist publication? Where else can you imagine it appearing?

ANSWER : This essay is very appropriate for a feminist publication because it serves as a criticism of the expectations that many men have for their wives. It focuses on the immense amount of labor that women must stay on top of in their daily lives, much of which goes unappreciated or completely unnoticed by their husbands. This essay could also be appropriate for the opinion section of a newspaper.

Q.2. Does this essay have an explicitly stated thesis? If so, what is it? If you believe the thesis is implied, paraphrase it in your own words.

ANSWER : No, this essay does not have a stated thesis. I believe the thesis is that she wants someone to do everything a wife does for her.

Q.3. Do you think Brady really wants the kind of wife she describes?

ANSWER : She probably would like to have a wife that does everything stated in the essay. This ideal spouse does not exist, but when you love someone enough they come pretty close to it. I think Brady wrote this essay because she is tired of having the womanily responsibilities around the home and wants to go to school to learn and be higher up in society.

C. Style and Structure :

Q.1. Throughout the essay, Brady repeats the words "I want a wife." What is the effect of this repetition?

ANSWER : The effect of this repetition is that it tells the reader everything a wife does that men take for granted. It shows them that there are a lot of responsibilities that a wife has

Q.2. The first and last paragraphs of this essay are quite brief. Does this weaken the essay? Why or why not?

ANSWER : The briefness of these paragraphs is not an issue. They provide just enough context to frame the main body of the essay, which holds all the important information.

Q.3. In enumerating a wife's duties, Brady frequently uses the verb arrange. What other verbs does she use repeatedly? How do these verbs help her make her point?

ANSWER : In addition to "arrange", Brady also makes frequent use of the verbs "care," and "make sure". These verbs all relate to organization and caregiving, which are generally tasks delegated to women. Her frequent use of these words is a way to emphasize all the different ways that women are expected to provide care and to "arrange" things.

Q.4. Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines. Why not?

ANSWER : She never uses personal pronouns because she does not actually want a wife, these are just the responsibilities that she has as a wife.

Q.5. Comment on Brady's use of phrases such as of course (2, 3, and 7), needless to say (3), after all (7), by chance (8), and naturally (8). What do these expressions contribute to the sentences where they appear? To the essay as a whole?

ANSWER : These phrases serve as reminders that the tasks Brady is listening are often taken for granted and simply expected to be done. She is trying to point out how ingrained these roles are in society. Women are often brought up being taught how to do household chores, how to be a good hostess, etc, while such skills are far less often passed on to men. This leads to women taking on these burdens out of habit. Conversely, men who have not been made to take on such skills are unable to understand the time and energy such tasks require.