What Is Wife's Duty

Ngoc Huynh

Professor William Marquart

Engl 1302

3/11/2015

What is wife’s duty?

Have you ever thought a woman wants to have a wife? Have you ever thought a wife wants to have a wife in 20th century? Why does Judy Brady, who was a wife, wanted to have a wife in 1971 before she and her husband separated? Was it because she was so tired of being a wife? Was it because she thought a wife needs to work like a servant? To answer all of these questions, why don’t we take a look at her essay? In her essay, she gives many examples to tell us exactly what she wants a wife to do for her and her kids. In addition, she is a wife, so we can believe she is telling the truth and not exaggerating. An analysis of Ms Brady’s essay shows all these things.

In “I Want a Wife”, she defines wife as a servant. So when she says she wants a wife, she means she wants a servant and when a man says I want a wife, he means I want a servant. All people would like to have a servant to take care of them so that they can have time to do what they want. The evidence for her thesis comes from her personal experiences.

Judy Brady came up with the idea to write this essay after talking to her male friend who was divorced and looking for a wife to take care of him and his kids. Then she explains to us what she wants a wife to do for her and the reasons why she needs a wife. First of all, she would like to go back to school and needs a wife to take care of her kids. She needs time to focus on her study without worrying about her kids. She wants them to have good relationships with their peers, get good grades and to not think about their clothes, any dentist appointments, just play and study. Also she needs her wife to save time for Judy and her kids but she does not lose her job. Next, she wants a wife to take care of her physical needs, run the household. Her wife needs to be good cook, keep clothes cleaned, put everything in their proper places. In addition, she wants her wife to care for her, talk to her whenever she is sad, gets tired of school and does not bother her with complaints about wife’s duty. Moreover, she needs a wife to make her sociable. She wants her wife to help her to serve her guests whenever they come, take care of her kids so that they won’t bother her and her friends.  She needs her wife to understand her sexual needs and make sure she is satisfied. A wife also needs to know her responsibility for birth control. When she is done with her school and has a job, she wants her wife stop working and just concentrate on her business so that she can start a new, fresh life. Finally, she concludes, “who wouldn’t want a wife?” the author gives us a logical setting from her school wish to her physical needs, problems in her life, her sexual needs and her kids. This helps us gradually get information to understand about how is wife’s duty. She also gives many examples to make her points clear and easy to follow. Moreover, she organizes the right way to hook the readers.

At the very beginning of the essay, she said “I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife.” So we know she is a wife and she knows exactly what a wife needs to do on a daily basis. This is more convincing than unmarried author because we know she is telling the truth, not her imagination for exaggeration to scare us about marriage. In addition, “I am a mother” so she cares about her children as we read in her essay. She needs wife to “support those dependent upon me”, “I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children's doctor and dentist appointments.” “A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me.” And etc. We know that wife is not only running household but also taking care of children. She gives us a clear life for who wants to become a wife. They should consider how they life will change after marrying without having any shocks. If wives can’t stand and separate from their husbands, it is very poor for their kids.