I Want to Whine

I Want to Whine

“All married women are not wives” Japanese Proverb. A wife is more than just a woman sharing a home, a bed, and a bank account. She is a person who will often keep the communal house clean, cook meals, and work when needed. In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife,” Mrs. Brady discusses her distaste for many women’s roles as ‘wives.’
The author’s thesis is that wives are mistreated and taken advantage of by their husbands. She backs up her thesis with statements providing examples of double standards in the home such as that a man “want[s] a wife who will remain sexually faithful to [him] so that [he does] not have to clutter up [his] intellectual life with jealousies…[at the same time, he wants] a wife who understands that [his] sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy” (Brady, 978). Brady is making the assumption that all homes run as hers does, with the woman doing most of the work. This is an acceptable assumption for the time period in which the essay was written; in the early 70s, most households consisted of a stay-at-home mother and a breadwinning father. The thesis is credible, because it is true the majority of the time. No alternatives are discussed; the audience is given a purely one-sided essay.
The writer does not characterize those with differing views at all. She does not even mention them. Brady does have an unfair bias, as she is a wife and mother in her own right. She most definitely has a skewed view of how a wife is treated. The intended audience is wives. The appeals to emotion and logic that are used are absolutely suitable for this overworked group.
When appealing to logic, Brady shows the double standards that exist in a marriage. Not only does a man expect a wife who “will not bother [him] with rambling complaints about a wife's duties…but…who will listen to [him] when [he] feel[s] the need to explain a rather difficult point…” (Brady 978), but also one who “takes care of the children when they are sick…who...

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