Sarcasm is
a great tool to use when writing. Judy Brady portrays the “getting of a wife”
to be like going to the “wife store” and picking out one with all of the right
specifications. The weight that women carry in modern society is great and they
are definitely underappreciated by many. However, the points outlined are
ideals for women. Jobs that people relate women with. Things that are socially
acceptable for women to do. If a woman never stepped out of her comfort zone,
then yes, she would be the perfect wife and thus fit these criteria. But I
don’t think that is the author’s main point here at all. After all, she did step out of her zone to write I Want a Wife.
The role of
women in twentieth century society is that of a housewife. That is generally well
known and accepted. Brady is not one to accept such truth. She writes about how
nice it is to have a wife and she
goes as far as to say that she too would love to enjoy that luxury. Here
argument is that women take responsibility for all of the domestic chores and
duties. If the children need anything, she caters to them. If the husband needs
anything, she does it. In all that this wife
does, she does out of the love of her heart. She, by no means, expects to
collect on her duties. She is the perfect wife that does everything, but her
situation is very one-sided. Where does the husband come into play?
Husbands
are on the receiving end of the Brady’s thesis of total women sub ordinance.
They do not add anything to the domestic equation. But what is their role?
Well, we envision from an early age that marriage is a time of happiness and
joy and reverence and pure love. Brady doesn’t mention any of that stuff in her
essay. The reason is this. I believe that the author is using a lot of blunt
sarcasm to get the reader’s attention about something. The point is that the
popular belief of a woman’s role is to be a subordinate housewife. Brady is
arguing against that. Sure it would be nice to have a slave that does
everything but that’s not how a marriage should work. Just like in the book A
Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, where the main character Nora’s societal role
was to serve and be a little “squirrel” to her husband. In conclusion of the
story, she left Torvald and started anew just to prove that she could do things
on her own.
I
Want a Wife attracted a lot of attention as it was published in the first
edition of a prominent feminist magazine. The goal was to inform women of their
subordinate role, have them act upon it and eventually change their marriage
into a happy partnership. As Brady was
not abdicating the sub ordinance of women, she was trying to shine the
tarnished societal role of the middle class housewife.
I made the same point in my blog! I agree that sarcasm is a great tool to use when writing, as Brady really made great use out of it. I agree that Brady “stepped out of her comfort zone” while writing this because she must have been very bold and courageous to step out and question the ideals of modern society, the “societal norms”. Brady most likely felt so strongly about this particular topic because she had to provide as a mother and wife to her family and do all things that those roles entail. She obviously didn’t mean that she literally wanted a wife, though. Brady only went as far as to say that because she was trying to be ironic and sarcastic, as well as to appeal to the audience’s emotions. While I agree that Brady used blunt sarcasm to get the readers’ attention about this important topic and prove that women should be entitled to more than just being a perfect housewife, I also believe that she is taking a stab at the men who let everything be taken care of for them. I agree with everything you said about Brady’s use of sarcasm, but I also believe that she uses pathos very cleverly in her essay. She uses humor and sarcasm to appeal to the readers’ emotions, but she also does this to persuade the readers to understand and reciprocate the frustration she feels against society. I like the comparison you made to A Doll’s House, I didn’t even think about that while writing my blog. But yes this is a good comparison because in this play, the main character feels the same frustration that Brady feels, as she is given the job to stay home all day and act as the perfect trophy wife for her husband. In the end, she also realizes how much she hates being subordinate and claims her independence when she walks out of the house. I thought it was really smart for Brady to have her article published in a prominent feminist magazine because the women reading that would share her ideals greatly.
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand exactly what you mean when you describe a "perfect" wife as one who does not "step out of her comfort zone."Personally, I believe the problem is considering all of the duties a wife should supposedly do as a part of her "comfort zone" in the first place. It seems much more reasonable to me to consider Brady's piece as an argument to reestablish or eliminate the boundaries that confine women to doing all of the domestic duties in a marriage. In this sense, I Want a Wife is arguing for the establishment of a "comfort zone" that the women actually feel comfortable in, and one that they determine for themselves, as opposed to one forced upon them by societal pressures and their husbands.
ReplyDeleteYour example of Nora in A Doll's House is great. In both I Want a Wife and A Doll's House, the basic point is that women should not have to fit into a predetermined societal mold simply because they are women. Brady's satire definitely helps exemplify this and catches the reader's attention. Without the sarcasm, the essay really doesn't have the same effect. For instance, had she simply stated grievances against the societal norms forcing her into a subservient position it would have sounded a bit preachy, even though it's true, and it wouldn't have carried the same weight. Her sarcastic remark of "who wouldn't want a wife?" really tops it all off because it conveys the selfishness of the men in the marriage and how they take advantage of their wives. As she continues to cite more and more examples of why she wants a wife, it portrays the husbands in a worse and worse light. Women must do everything from taking care of the kids to picking up a second or third job to pay for the education of their husbands. Not to mention that the husbands then exploit their services by simply neglecting to acknowledge them. Therefore, I definitely agree that men's roles in the relationships described by Brady are severely lacking; The men stand only to benefit whereas the women do most of the work.