Topic > Review of Judy Brady's article, I Want a Wife

In her essay, "I Want a Wife," Judy Brady explores society's expectations of women's roles in a marital family during the early 1970s. Using rhetoric, he strategically inserts an impactful new point of view into the minds of his readers in just under two pages. The entire essay is one long satire, reading like a list and identifying one painfully accurate example after another of society's collective contempt for the value of women. While the most obvious goal of her essay is to expose the culture's errant perspective on gender roles, it is certainly not the only goal of her writing. Brady also sets out to win the hearts of his male audience, ultimately convincing them to reevaluate their greedy attitudes towards women and to educate and rile the emotions of his female audience, whom he intends to profoundly influence. Throughout the essay, Brady employs numerous rhetorical strategies to achieve these goals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Very clearly, Brady lets his audience know right from the start which side of the argument he identifies with, saying "I belong to that classification of people known as wives," as his opening statement. This ensures that it has already captured the attention of its female readers. Use this method to win over your desired customers without hesitation. She goes on to say, “And, not entirely surprisingly, I am a mother.” This second observation is the first time the reader sees Brady point to a stereotypical standard that women of this era were not so gently urged to uphold. This is Brady's way of cynically alluding to the rebellious belief that a man is entitled to have children with or without his wife's approval, simply because she is his wife. This bold statement effectively conveys the first of many compelling messages Brady expresses to both sides of his audience. Although her thesis already surpasses a multitude of feminist writers of her time in just a few sentences, it does not simply end there. Continue with “Not long ago a friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh off a recent divorce. He had a son, who is obviously with his ex-wife. This bold comment only further awakens the dramatic aspect of the reader. He uses this phrase to imply that after a divorce, the woman is generally left to look after the needs of any children the couple may have conceived together on their own. He points out how the woman is expected to make ends meet on her own while the man is free to "look for another wife" without any art. His sarcastic tone effectively illustrates his belief in an underlying social issue, without overtly stating it. Brady then comments, "I thought of him one evening while I was ironing." This once again alludes to one of the countless rules imposed on housewives that she wanted to revoke. She adds this detail because it determines how she portrays herself as a writer. She depicts herself doing housework. This reinforces the entity that she herself is held to the very axiom of her writing. He is revealing to the reader that he is just like them. This makes it personal. This takes his article from being audience-centric to being equally writer-centric. From there, he goes on to rather harshly describe all the reasons he wants a wife. It does this in great detail, referring to each of the specialized expectations placed on women as a whole, making it seem like those certain duties fulfill the purpose of having a wife, because often, that's how it's perceived. This is his way of.