Judy Brady’s Article “I Want A Wife”: Analysis
I Want a Wife is a short essay which was published in 1972 Ms. Magazine. It takes feminism up a notch. Judy Brady, in a comical and almost funny way, exaggerates what it means to be a typical household wife in 70’s America. She also pokes fun at husbands in general. Her goal is to convince the audience that there are inequalities in married couples’ relationships. Her argument is strengthened by a variety techniques, including appeals and metaphorical language. However, her bias towards the topic takes away some meaning.
Brady makes use of the appeals to Logos, Pathos and Ethos throughout her essay. Her essay begins with the statement, “I belong in that category of people called wives.” I am A Wife. And not entirely, incidentally, “I am a wife.” By using this first sentence, she wants to let her audience immediately know she knows what she’s talking about. She suggests that all the housewife jobs she mentioned were performed by her. The essay ends with her Pathos appeal statement, “My God. Who wouldn’t love a wife?” This appeal strikes all emotional types. It prompts readers to think about the information and encourages them to take action. Logos is her way of stating all the duties she assumed she had to fulfill. Brady uses this technique to show that women can do too many things. You might also be interested in these appeals, which she strategically uses throughout her writing.
Turabian Citation Generator She uses repetition as an example. Nearly all sentences begin with “I desire a wife”. By doing so, she is able to make her point more powerful and definitive. This shows men see wives only as slaves to their needs. Brady also makes use of Irony throughout his paper to make it seem like he is writing it. The article sends a message that the men are unlikely to find the wife they describe. “I want a wife that will clean the house, make a special dinner, and listen to my conversations about what interests me and my friends.” This is a very unrealistic and exaggerated view of a real wife.
Judy’s essay is funny and blunt. She also reveals her biases. The author demonstrates her feelings about her wife’s role through many examples. Viewers might not see the article as a woman complaining about her work and reacting negatively. She exaggerates in every way and doesn’t give credit to the men who do the work.
This essay was a great example of how to approach a topic that is still controversial today. It isn’t wrong. Her appeals and use of figurative languages support her argument. All of this is exaggerated. It would be nice for a woman to behave in the same way as her husband, but this is not what women are expected to do. But her bias leads her to overlook the reality of husbands’ lives every day. While this is not applicable to me as a college student, it will be when I settle down that I will remember the assignment.
Cites
Trail, G. Y. (2003). Woman’s work-Where the rhetoric meets the road: Response from readers to “Why I Want A Wife” (page 30). The Journal of American Culture published an article in its 26th volume, 3rd issue, which discussed the topic of culture in the United States. (https://www.proquest.com/docview/200652207?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true)
Foster, D. (1997). Reading (s). College Composition, 48(4), 518-539. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/358456)
Pratt, C. D. (2012). Sisters of Law: The struggle of Black women lawyers to advance. Mich. St. L. Rev., 1777. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/mslr2012/=64&id=&page=)
Atika, A. P. (2022). Gender Inequality Towards Women: A Cultural Feminist View (Doctoral dissertation) (https://repository.uksw.edu/handle/123456789/23715)
Dutt, T. (1876). Our Casuarina-tree. An Anthology of Victorians, 1837-1895. 545-46. (http://www.jaincollege.ac.in/jecvvp/pdf/additional-english-I-Sem-Syllabus-2019.pdf)
