Imagine the life of an average wife in the mid-1900s, where the only purpose imposed by a male-dominant society was to care for those around you without requests. The 1970s marked a turning point for women's rights in America. The idea of ​​feminism came to life during this time as women demanded to be treated equally to their male counterparts. Some of the most famous developments that took place in the women's rights movement were the battles against sexism, the fight for free access to abortion, and the overcoming of oppression on a social, economic and political level. At the head of these battles were women-led organizations that consisted of the National Organization for Women, the Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Council, and the Labor Women's Coalition. These times led women to move to the forefront of society as they began to leave their traditional lives behind to take part in things like college, the workforce, and establishing successful careers. The essay “Why I Want a Wife,” written by Judy Brady in 1970, immediately made headlines, seen as a piece that encapsulated and critiqued the stereotypical life of a wife in the mid-1900s. Brady, in “Why I Want a Wife,” wife,” persuades his audience to see the reasoning and feel a multitude of emotions toward his plea through the use of rhetorical strategies, logos, ethos, and pathos, writing not just to criticize but to shed light on the situation. absurdities of the typical life of a wife in the mid-19th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Brady uses the rhetorical strategy of satire throughout her essay as a way to exemplify her critique of the jobs a typical housewife had in the mid-19th century. Brady actually begins his essay in the third passage, writing about the wife he would like to have. She states: I want a wife who works and sends me to school. And while I go to school I want a wife to take care of my children. . . I want a wife who will take care of the children when they are sick, a wife who will make sure to be there when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot skip classes at school. My wife has to organize herself to waste time at work and not lose her job. Here, Brady describes the perfect wife as someone who will work while sending her husband to school and take care of the children while holding down a job. The importance of this passage is that Brady uses satire as a way to ridicule the unrealistic expectations men have of their wives. Brazenly, and rightfully without discernment for manners, he invokes such an far-fetched and exact opposite of right example, with the purpose of pandering the audience into realizing how absurd the expectations placed on wives are during this era. Furthermore, this specific example clearly exemplifies how the relationship between husband and wife functioned in the mid-19th century, as it was acceptable for men to further their own careers at the complete expense of their wives. Brady's use of satire only increases as his essay continues, as he later writes, "I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love with passion and enthusiasm when I want it, a wife who doesn't demand sexual relations." pay attention when I don't feel like it." While the first half of this excerpt may seem somewhat normal to a greedy husband of any era, the ending in whichBrady says his perfect wife wouldn't want any sexual satisfaction, is where he hits home. Using satire, she states the obvious social expectations that are placed on a wife, but within the lines she criticizes the stupidity of such expectations through the use of irony. Brady intends to point out how ironic it is that men who consider themselves sexually dominant and above women are unable and unwilling to reciprocate any feelings of love with their wives. In this way, he rightly hints at how men can seemingly do so much for the world, yet do so little within the home for family and wife. Brady uses logos as he clearly states his argument regarding the typical duties of a wife. Brady writes, “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who keeps the house clean. . . I want someone who cooks food, a wife who is a good cook." Here, Brady begins to ramble about his expectations of a perfect wife while overloading the reader with his wants and needs. By doing this, he clearly and logically allows the reader to realize that he is arguing that the disparities between the husband's role and the wife's role are unfair. Likewise, she italicizes the words "mine" and "good" for emphasis, doing so to further argue that too much is expected of wives, as both must be able to meet only their husband's physical needs and have the ability to cook. and cook well. Following this onslaught of unrealistic duties that a wife has, Brady, in a short passage, brings out something more personal and meaningful than materialistic expectations. He writes: “I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about the duties of a wife. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain. . . And I want a wife who will type my papers when I get them written. Here, Brady addresses the social inequalities between the ideal husband and wife, as the husband is allowed to express his explanations and complaints to his wife, but his counterpart is expected to remain silent about his own emotions and needs. Likewise, Brady writes this last line in a way that trips up the reader as it logically and forcefully exemplifies wives' unfair expectations. The sheer ridiculousness of this last line is a way for Brady to express how utterly unfair the wife's roles are, as they are supposed to complete a task that can or has already been done by the husband. Brady also uses ethics to become credible. to the audience and pathos to gather readers' emotions in a way that makes them agree with the stereotypical plight of housewives. Early on, Brady writes, “I'm a wife. And, not entirely by chance, I am a mother." In this way, in the very first passage of his essay, Brady immediately allows the reader to infer the knowledge and experience he has. This allows the reader to understand that the following arguments she makes are criticisms based on her own experience as a wife and mother, rather than endless complaints from someone who has nothing to do with the complaints, giving her maximum credibility to talk about these problems. Along with his credibility, Brady uses his personal experiences to rouse readers' emotions into agreeing with his side of the argument. He does this by writing: And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may involve more than strict adherence to monogamy. After all, I need to be able to relate to people as fully as possible. If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the one I already have, I want to have her.