Irony In Judy Syf's Why I Want A Wife

A wife’s duties in I Want a Wife are numerous, but they all boil down to the care of both the children and the husband, leaving little to no time for individual pursuits. The wife must devote her time to more domestic tasks such as sewing, cooking, cleaning, ironing, and keeping the husband’s personal items in proper order. Not only is the wife responsible for housework and caring for the children in this scenario but also must work while the husband attends school. If these duties do not coincide easily, the wife must be the one to make the effort to do it all. “I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job.” The wife must do all of this without complaint while listening with rapt attention to any problems the

She essentially discusses how she does all of these things, but doesn’t get much in return. Another example of pathos in this essay is when she talks specifically about the sexual relationship that a wife and husband have. “I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it.” In this quote, Brady compares the sex that a wife has with her husband to another chore that she does. She shows that there is no mutual emotion or desire between them and that it is more of a duty of a wife rather than a pleasure. Essentially, she compares herself and any other wife to a sex puppet who is just there to service the husband with little to no joy. These two examples make the reader sympathize with Brady and the common housewife because of all of the responsibilities that they have as well as how they get little to no pleasure out of what they have to do. Lastly, Brady’s hasty tone shows her resentment towards divorced men as well as men in general. This allows the audience to understand her feelings on the topic of gender dynamics and it forces the audience to feel that way too.

In the 1970’s the average family had a wife that would take care of all of the cooking, the cleaning, everything concerning their kids, and even caring for her husband too. They did all of this without complaining, while their husband was at work. In those times nothing less was expected from them. In the article “Why I Want a Wife” Brady uses ethos, logos, and pathos to illustrate her opinion of what a wife do in a marriage, in which she infers that wives do too much for their families.

In paragraphs one and two, the author introduces herself and gives her explanation and reasoning for wanting a wife. Brady demonstrates her credibility in these paragraphs. “I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother.” Brady introduces herself as A Wife and a mother, showing her empirical knowledge. The author then capitalizes “A Wife” because she wants to emphasize and argue that she is a wife, not a servant or any other job description. By capitalizing these words she is showing that wives are no longer looked at as people, but as objects or as a type of job. She then begins to explain how she came about wanting a wife. “Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce...He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife.” She employs irony thourgh this statement. Of course, she was ironing or doing chores because she is A Wife, that is what they are supposed to do. She shows a short glimpse at her job title and her job description.

In Judy (Syfers) Brady’s article, “I Want a Wife”, she expresses her opinions in a satirical commentary that offers hypothetical criteria for an ideal wife, with an underlying message that deals with how people should be grateful for all of the deeds and chores that women do. Brady utilizes the strategy of

As aforementioned, she takes on a feminine masculine persona—she is speaking as a woman having the needs of a man, treating a wife as a different species of woman that she covets. Her tone also does not stray into something violent or passionate; she remains firm and assertive throughout. She simply states what she wants and how she plans on achieving it. This persists throughout the essay until the final line—“My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” (Brady 10)—where she directly employs the prior point of her wryness.

Judy Brady's essay illustrates how women are viewed in the eyes of men and what men think wives purpose is and their duties and responsibilities are. She uses a sarcastic and humorous approach. Her purpose is to show how women are stereotyped by men that men more or less think women are their slaves and need to answer to their every need. The author uses repetition and concrete words. She uses repetition throughout her essay with the words I need a wife. She is writing a descriptive narrative essay as a second person point of view to grab the attention of her readers also to make a point to them illustrating how men think women are meant to fulfill and serve all their needs even sexually. The descriptive writing pattern is used well by the

Gallant’s use of sarcasm establishes narrative voice, and it turn provides social commentary on the shallowness of modern marriages. Gallant states that “From a series of helpful college lectures, she [Carol] learned that a common interest, such as a liking for Irish Setters, was the true basis for happiness,... Similar economic backgrounds, financial security, belonging to the same church - these were the pillars of the married union.” Gallant uses sarcasm to convey that these college lectures were not helpful at all. In fact, the college lectures - a symbol for society - spouts absurd facts about happiness in a marriage.

The entire article has this mockingly serious tone throughout, done in order to make it so that the reader ponders about the mindset of a person who performs this blatant exploitation. This paragraph, along with the rest of the article, shows just how utterly selfish the idea of the ideal wife is through its use of a blunt voice and the author purposefully writing it as if it had a lack of irony and self-awareness. When I read this, I could tell exactly what she was talking about. She caused me to think about a form of selfishness that exists in the world.

Throughout her essay, Brady sarcastically states that she wants a wife to do countless tasks, one after another, as if she were a dictator. Brady lists, “I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying.” Brady uses this dictator-like persona to demonstrate the irrationality of husbands. Furthermore, Brady exposes the egotistical behavior of men through the constant use of personal pronouns, as an indicator that she yearns to receive the care that she was constantly offering. “ I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school.

By using phrases such as “must arrange” (229) and “make sure” (229) Brady is inferring what the men think is right in their consciousness. The women who are reading the article are drawn in because they recognize what the men think is right in society and can sense the sarcastic tone. One of the most substantial quotes in the reading sends a message to the public eye: “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” (230). Brady listed the jobs that women are required throughout the whole reading and then ended the entire article with the strong use of pathos. Brady grabbed the audience by making them indignant and emotionally involved in the

In the essays “I Want A Wife” and “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes,” both Brott and Brady talk about how women are seen as the primary caregivers at home. The authors show similarities through stereotypes and also through the role each gender plays. In the two articles, men are portrayed as a negative and unseen influence in the home life. While both authors achieved their intended aims, they did so in very diverse ways. Although there are many similarities in the two essays, each author has many differences as well.

He understands the hardships of marriage by saying “I think it’s fairly well established by now that marriage is a challenge, a creaky, old institution that may not have fully adapted itself to modern life, one that now fails in this country more often than not. Put children in the picture and you have an exponentially higher degree of difficulty” (439). He also understands the troubles caused from motherhood by saying “Motherhood asks the modern woman, who has grown up seeing professional success as hers for the taking, to add the loss of a linear career path to an already considerable burden: child rearing, body issues, a shifting self-image and a husband who fell off his white horse long, long ago. I suppose this would make anyone angry” (439). So although he does not approve of her anger and is not pleased by it, he understands why she might have so much built up anger that she feels the need to take out on her husband. Again, it seems he is blaming society’s standards and stereotypes instead of taking responsibility for his part in the struggling

She connects with her group of onlookers by adjusting genuine worries with an offhanded comical inclination while utilizing incongruity to avoid the reader at all costs that keeps the piece from turning into a diary. By dissecting the moving parts of Brady 's exposition, I will explain the reasons why "I Want a Wife" is not an only mission statement for the second wave women 's liberation, additionally a true blue show-stopper.

Unlike her friend, Nora, Mrs. Linde has more freedom to do what she wants, however she is not entirely satisfied. In this culture, a woman’s role is normally to do housework and to raise their children, but Mrs. Linde is exempt from this. She does not have to conform into this picture, but she is not content with her lifestyle until she meets up with her lost love, Krogstad. “I want to be a mother to someone, and your children need a mother. We two need each other.”1 This quote exemplifies that Mrs. Linde is only content with her life when she fits in the role of being a mother and a wife.