Written by Judy Brady, "I want a wife" is a legendary feminist satire essay that was published in 1971. The writer has written it from a male's perspective and explained how hard life is for a wife. With a sarcastic tone, Brady, in her writing, portrays how men perceive ladies, how they feel, act, and react to ladies. She has distinguished gender roles in this story through the use of tone and her sharp satire. Further, she added that the wife's duty is very hard and yet, is underappreciated by society. When the woman empowerment movement that started in the 1960s was ongoing, asking for equal rights, such an essay amplified the issue. The article found itself being subject to several rhetorical analysis and was found to be perfect in elaborating how a wife's duties are significant for a family to run smoothly. The writer has skillfully presented the wife’s duties as viewed from a man's point of view.
Brady's "I want a wife" is a classic that aided on gender equality during the feminist movement running at the time. She has thrown light on gender roles in this story through the use of tone and sharp words by comparing the roles of a husband and a wife. She has depicted the role of woman in "I want a wife" from a male point of view. Articles such as these are extremely efficient in creating a paradigm shift in society and changing the underlying perspective towards females and their rights. Learning about such topics since school even helps students develop fair and equal behavior with everyone regardless of their gender.
Unlike modern times, the ladies during the 70s had no recognition, individuality, and freedom. They had to keep busy in the household works for the whole day, 365 days a year. They had no personal life and had to be dependent on men for everything. From keeping the house clean to taking care of men's personal things, ladies would run their lives trying to be a successful wife, maid, and mother, not altogether incidentally but all at once every time. Before the 60s, a female was not even allowed voting rights. But with the rise in feminism and empowerment, some laws and women's rights have been established to allow them some privilege regarding equality.
Explaining all the wife's duties and hardship, she asked who wouldn't want a wife in their life. She argues that the burden of wives is more demanding than a husband and yet underappreciated. Distinguishing between the men and women in society and how unequal the roles are, she uses a sarcastic tone in order to express her negative opinion towards the inequality of males and females. With the emotional analysis of Judy Brady's I want a wife essay, people were touched and realized how unfair the system was to females. By learning to stand up for themselves, ladies started objecting to men, the laws & women’s rights, and the system to fight for their rights.
"I want a wife" is one of the foremost popular essays written to date. Learning about the painful past that females have had to face through images history & those taken by George Marks/Getty images history helps modern citizens empathize better and adapt to their privacy policy. Learning through images of history & culture women's can be understood. The prevalent culture of women's history feminist texts also suggests that females' lives were miserable, and the revolution was necessary.
Her words made the reader feel about the pain every lady has to go through and how illtreated and underappreciated they were. Elaborating the female roles in Judy Brady's why I want a wife essay, she has enlisted the demands required from a wife, as per the male perspective. In her article, Brady states the ease of having a wife to complete all the household duties. With a sharp and superficial irony, she has firmly convinced the public about the physical, mental, and moral effort that a girl has to make to keep the family running smoothly.