Analysis Of A Mother's Day Kiss-Off By Leslie Bennetts

“The Myth of Co-Parenting; How it Was Supposed to Be. How it Was” by Hope Edelman and “My problem with Her Anger” by Eric Bartels both explain the strain child rearing and lack of communication can put upon a marriage. The two articles describe their personal experiences with this issue, but the authors have differing points of view on the subject. Although they have different perspectives, both Edelman and Bartels explore ideas of traditional gender roles and unrealistic expectations in relationships.

In the articles “My Problem with Her Anger” and The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was,” authors Eric Bartels, feature writer for the Portland Tribune in Portland, Oregon, and Hope Edelman, nonfictional writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Seventeen magazine, discuss the roles they play within their family and what the other partner is lacking. They express their discontent regarding their wives and the activities they perform domestically. Wives have an image of what they want their family to be like, but according to the

When most people get married, they go into the marriage with the expectations and hopes that everything will go as planned, that they will always get along, and that the responsibilities will be evenly divided between both spouses. And for two working spouses who have children, they share the expectation that no one parent will be more of a caretaker than the other. Eric Bartels, a feature writer for the Portland Tribune in Portland, Oregon, feels as if he has personal experience as to what it is like to be on the receiving end of his wife’s irrational—or at least in his eyes—anger. Bartels informs his readers of the anger his wife projects

In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife,” she examines why she would like to have a wife. Brady believes that a wife performs all house chores and the husband does nothing, but to expect the wife to do everything for him. Brady tries to persuade the reader to look at a husband viewpoint of what a wife should be. The essay was written during the early 1960’s, during the second wave of the feminist movement in America. Brady is pushed by certain reasons to write, “I Want a Wife” to show the humanist humor.

Throughout this article Brady uses ethos, logos, and pathos to illustrate her opinion that the wife does too much in a family. Brady connects with her audience by relating to what was expected of them back in the 1970’s. She states reasons to why she wants a wife and lists what she says a wife would do for her. Lastly, Brady connects emotionally to her audience by

In “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, the author argues that the roles of a wife are unfair and more demanding than a husband's, thereby they are treated as lesser than a man. Brady supports her claim by first, introducing herself as a wife, showing her empirical knowledge; secondly, cataloging the unreasonable expectations of a wife; finally ending the essay with an emotional and thought-provoking statement, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” Brady’s purpose is to expose the inequality between the roles of a husband and of a wife in order to show that women do not belong to men and to persuade women to take action and stand up for themselves. Based on when this essay was written and since it is about the impossible expectations of a wife, Brady was writing to feminists in the 1960s in order to rally them to create a change in the way people thought.

Marriage is oftentimes praised for all its good qualities, but people tend to avoid discussing the downsides of marriage in order to avoid discomfort. Confronting the problems that many couples face in marriage is hard, and most people find it easier to simply overlook any issues they may face to avoid furthering the problem. In “My Problem With Her Anger,” Eric Bartels elaborates on the struggles he and his wife face and what experiencing the effects of spousal anger feels like from a husband’s perspective. Through emotional appeal and anecdotes, Bartels semi-successfully argues that husbands are too often, and unfairly, on the receiving end of their wives’ anger and stress.

Television psychologists and pop culture self-help gurus tell us that marriage is hard work; marriage is compromise; marriage is a choice between being right, and being happy. All of these statements are true. What these experts don’t tell us, however, is that marriage is also about putting on blinders, or looking on the bright side, or one of a hundred other trite phrases to explain the art of self-deception. In marriage, there are times when we may find it necessary to look the other way from our spouse’s faults or indiscretions, in the interest of self-preservation. For if we examine these problems too closely, our darkest, most secret fears may come true. Therefore, it can seem easier to focus on the positive. In her poem “Surprise,” Jane Kenyon uses denial, selective perception, and fear of betrayal to illustrate the self-deception that can occur in marriage.

Eric Bartels has experienced the struggles and difficulties of marriage and describes them in his article entitled “My Problem with Her Anger.” Bartels’ article includes the struggles that he endures as a victim to his wife’s fury and the ways in which he feels his wife’s outlook should be repaired. The author establishes the anger present in the relationship, and then concludes with how her anger problem needs to be fixed.

When a person gets married the responsibilities that they have within a family change completely because they are now a part of a whole new family which may come with new responsibilities. When a man or woman marries into a family, they have to find their role within the family dynamic which at times means that they may have to do things that they did not used to do or do things that they do not want to do, but these are things that come with being a part of a family. In addition, many times along with being married women are fit into a gender role that forces them into the “housewife” role. Some men before being married always had their mother there to do things like cooking and cleaning for them and so when they get married they assume that their wife will continue to do these things for him. These assumptions will completely shape how a women is viewed within her own family and it will also shape how she is viewed by society. The typical wife is exemplified in the story “The Married Woman”, in which the author describes what it is like for a woman to become married. A woman who was “once gay and coquettish” got “married to a man who neglected her,” which led her to take to “orderly housekeeping” to keep herself busy and this led her to “forget her own existence” (De Beauvoir 380). By becoming married a woman is shaped into a completely different

This book outlined the gender inequality and oppression of women that persisted in America. It addressed the trends in the 1950s and 60s where the age of women marrying was decreasing, while birth rate was increasing. 1950s American culture reinforced the idea that homemaking would mean fulfillment and happiness as an American woman, but Friedan noticed the exact opposite. Friend pointed out that these limiting expectations for women actually lead to depression and a sense of bereft. She encouraged women to fight off these feelings by finding fulfillment and meaning outside and alongside marriage and motherhood.

Modern literature is known for questioning society and its various conventions. One question that these works often ask is, “What is real?” Some modern authors explore this question by placing their characters within self-constructed illusions that are later shattered by the introduction of reality. Marriages are frequently at the center of this theme, with one spouse crafting an illusory impression of the other. Modern literature demonstrates that a marriage built upon illusion will falter when exposed to reality.

Since the beginning of time, women have been externalized as the “slaves” of the house. They undertake cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, and much more daily chores that need to be accomplished. Women go through the painful experience of producing a family. Men underestimate the power and strength a woman possesses. They are not “slaves”, but more like “Wonder Women”. In 1972, Judy Brady wrote an article for Ms. Magazine explaining what is expected of a woman. As the author of “Why I Want A Wife,” Judy Brady uses sarcasm and exaggeration to explain a wife’s duties to develop ethos and pathos and connect with the audience.

because [she] felt [her] own needs acutely and often expressed them violently (32) by raging at her children out of frustration, provides a credible offering to break down an institution that makes women like her angry. It also demonstrates some of the ways in which motherhood has not been women's choice.

Society is progressing and has equal opportunity for all individuals. Though some people fail to understand that in today’s society women and men have the same ability and opportunity. “I Have a Wife” by Judy Brady (which appeared in the One Hundred Great Essays in 2008) describes the expectations for a wife from a husband’s eyes (DiYanni, 108). Brady is a political activist and feminist, who has also published various articles and essays in the Greenpeace magazine and The Women 's Review of Books. The satire shows how those expectations are ridiculous and wives are treated as an object.