Advanced Composition
My god, who doesn’t need to read “Why I want a wife”? In 1971 Judy Brady was giving a speech at a women’s suffrage meeting listing everything expected of wives when someone challenged her to write it all down. She went home and within a few hours had written “Why I want a wife” which was first published in the feminist magazine Ms. magazine. 50 years later and “Why I want a wife” Is a prevalent piece that still contributes to the fight for social equality of the sexes.
As a girl and daughter of married parents, Brady’s essay made me think of the role married women in history have played. My own parents are an example of a happy, equal relationship where they are both constantly working to maintain a thriving family. Through comparing my own family to others around me I can see that this is not always the case. Even today 50 years after the text was written. In heteronormative families where both parents have full time jobs I often see mothers doing more household upkeep (cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.) and I see fathers doing more ‘fixing’ and maintaining appliances and house exteriors. The line between gender roles has faded much and is often flipped since “Why I Want a Wife” was published and it’s now socially acceptable for men to do activities historically reserved for women.
Immediately Brady tells the readers “ I am a Wife” (para1) and sets the scene with her ironing, pondering over a conversation with a divorced male friend of hers. She has flipped the societal norm of husband and wife by asking “why can’t we all have wives, look at how nice having a wife is”. The initial shock of this essay comes from a 1970’s woman writing a piece in which she, a woman, mother, and wife, wants a wife.
Brady writes an essay from the perspective of a married woman wanting a wife but not once does she reference her own husband. She writes a story in which her desire for a wife brings her closer to her divorced friend (mentioned in para 1) than her own husband. She’s a wife, but in “Why I want a Wife” she is the divorced man. This creates a piece which allows the reader to acknowledge both that she is a wife writing for married women and that society is so very sweet for the married man. This subtlety only adds to the depth and brilliance of this piece.
The piece itself is a rant and it’s effective not because of the repetition of “I want” but because it’s a list of all the reasons Judy, a married 1970’s woman, would like a wife. It was an idea absolutely preposterous to the time, something no one else would have dared say aloud let alone publish an essay on it. But it makes sense. Everything she wrote makes absolute sense. Who wouldn’t want a wife? It sounds incredible. An unpaid servant who does everything for you from supplying sexual pleasure to ironing your shirts, while having a job and helping bring an income to you.
Is it cruel to expect your wife to do your laundry? As society progresses and gender roles become more and more blurred readers must look at “Why I Want a Wife” and acknowledge its impact for feminists and the world. It is an essay which has caused the world to question their views on women and to see that with the duties expected of wives at that time were the equivalent of an unpaid servant. Even with all the progression of feminism since 1971, “Why I Want a Wife” is a relevant piece which still resonates today.