Why I Want a Wife

Posted: September 10th, 2013

Why I Want a Wife

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Why I Want a Wife

This essay is classified as a feminist essay given that the author aimed at indicating that the role performed by the wife could also be performed with ease by the husband. The author, Judy Brady, was of the opinion that men had taken advantage of the role assumed by their housewives in helping out with daily chores in the household. The women are tasked with taking care of the men, the children and other aspects in the household, which men fail to recognize.

The author uses numerous aspects to appeal to the audience and ensures that they are able to understand the origin of her views and aim of the essay. Humor is expressly one of the strong points of this essay. The author, in her opening statements, indicates that she would also desire a wife because of the benefits seemingly accrued by men from possessing a wife. She indicates that she knew of a male friend who had recently divorced his wife. She indicates that the man was free from any responsibilities such as taking care of his child, who was expressly in the custody of his estranged wife. This view is brought about by the author while she is performing her household tasks like ironing clothes, which could be assumed to belong to her family members and preferably her husband (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

She provides the reasons towards the desire for having a wife, despite being a woman. This aimed at mocking the society and its traditional view that the role of women is in the household by claiming that she is seeking a wife to gain from the benefits of having a wife. The list of expectations of being a wife is numerous yet realistic, as majority of the elements and activities included are among the daily activities executed by women in their respective households. The identified list of tasks executed by a wife is an indication that the author is disgusted by the ignorance exercised by men who seemingly take advantage of the existence of women in their lives.

She uses rhetorical appeals, as she is involved in the identification of all the expectations and tasks executed by a woman in a household. She seems to assume that men are driven by an ego that is overbearing and insulting to the women. This is because she is of the consideration that women have similar needs and abilities to those of their husbands or male counterparts in the society. She uses ethos to appeal to the credibility of her writing and establishes a credible relationship with the readers in her writings. The validity of her claims is based on her ideal that women are also entitled to identical privileges as their male counterparts or husbands (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

The validity of her claims is brought about by the fact that she executes numerous tasks within the household and claims that such tasks are not acknowledged by husbands, let alone the society. The validity of her claims is based on the ideal that men are driven by the need to have their needs fulfilled without the consideration that women have similar needs. As a wife, given that she thinks of the need to have similar benefits posed to having a wife, she indicates that she is experienced in executing the tasks and chores associated with the role of a wife. In addition, she enforces the validity of her claim by providing all of the activities and tasks executed by a woman for the success of the man or husband at the expense of her individual happiness, needs and wants.

Furthermore, she seems to argue that there is a dire need, for men and women to have identical roles in a marital setting since they have similar needs and wants. A woman is expected to perform numerous tasks for the satisfaction of the husband at the expense of her happiness, needs and wants that are all similar to hose of her husband. The disparities in terms of thee roles between a man and woman is based on a traditional ideal that societal roles of both men and women are set out by society (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

She also uses pathos as a means of appealing to the emotions of the audience. She uses numerous points to appeal to the emotions of the audience. This is one of the most significant factors towards the development of inferences by the audience as to the relevance of her claims. She aims at driving the audience to develop empathy for her claims. She is driven by the need to cultivate feelings of pity and understanding for the women’s efforts in ensuring that the family, particularly the husband, is satisfied (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

She uses points such as the necessity of attending to the needs of her husband at the expense of neglecting her own needs. This is an indication of the presence of deep-rooted inequality in a marital setting because of the traditional distribution of roles. The burden and unequal distribution of roles between men and women is an approach the author uses to derive empathy from the audience. This is used as an indication of the troubles the women undergo as highlighted by the numerous tasks that women are expected to undertake in their households.

The author also uses logos as a means of bringing about her views to the audience. She indicates the presence of inequality between men and women in terms of their roles. She uses her example as a means of indicating the similarity in terms of needs, wants and expectations from one another in any martial setting. However, this has been ignored due to the traditional view that men and women are different and thus should have different roles. The use of logic is highlighted in her indication that a man has numerous expectations, which revolve around pleasing his ego and providing for his needs (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

Logic is evident in that a marriage is based on the presence of equality between the partners. Hence, given that individuals are considered as partners, lack of understanding and presence of inequality in the roles of the two is an indication of lack of understanding. The author seems to appeal to the audience to understand the logic of execution of all the identified tasks without help from the husband. In addition, she indicates that women, as much as men, have individual needs, which men are expected to fulfill. In addition, the author indicates that if all the tasks traditionally executed by women were to be divided between men and women, this would result in equality and a satisfactory relationship (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

Furthermore, the logical view developed in this essay is the presence of inequality in marital settings and lack of consideration in terms of division of duties. The author seeks to plead with the men to take part in family duties. This is due to the ideal that men could execute identical duties to those executed by their wives on a daily basis in the household setting. Parity is necessary in marital settings in terms of delegation and execution of tasks. Moreover, execution of similar tasks enforces the values of marriage, which is to ensure that the partners are able to cater for the needs of one another. In addition, partners in marriage have identical needs and expectations from one another, which could be attained if there is adequate understanding. Equality in terms of delegation and execution of duties and responsibilities in a domestic setting could play a crucial role in satisfaction of the needs (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2011).

Conclusively, the author manages to appeal to the audience using succinct information as to the duties and responsibilities executed by wives or women in domestic settings in comparison to their male counterparts. She appeals by indicating the burden of women in ensuring that all duties in a household are executed for the satisfaction of the husband and the entire family. The husband is expected to provide and enjoy pampering from his wife irrespective of ensuring that he provides support and provides to her individual needs by helping in the execution of such tasks in the domestic setting.

Reference

Barnet, S., Burto, W., & Cain, W. E. (2011). “Why I Want a Wife,” In Brady, J. (Ed.) Literature for composition: Essays, stories, poems, and plays. Boston: Longman.