Judy Brady’s Article “I Want a Wife”: Analysis

Last Updated: 31 May 2023
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In the Judy Brady's personal or informal essay entitled I Want a Wife, she clearly explains the reasons why she would need a wife. She is amusing in her essay whilst educating the unmarried and married women, as well as showing the responsibility of unsophisticated wife. At times, people wish they had a person to impart on and perform different actions for her or him. She ends up offering the answer to the question 'why I want a wife?", and summarizing "my god, whom would not want the wife?" at the culmination. This depicts that she has securely narrated all that she had to articulate.

The essay clearly details the way a dream wife must be owing to a perfect combination of her skills and achievements. A wife wants to be independent so that she can take good care of her physical requirements, look after her children, and be profound in her sexual urges. She jots out a long list of what most of the women carry out the moment they play the role of a wife, for instance, satisfying any needs of her child, supporting her husband and working for herself whilst he goes schooling, etc.

I Want a Wife can be read between the lines as the writer uses different ways and words to catch the reader's thoughtfulness. Brady uses recurrence to make certain that her main point is attaining satisfaction. She is continuously discussing what she requires in a wife and the things she wants a wife to take care of. A good example of this is when she says "I need a wife who will not trouble me with pointless complaints concerning wife duties." She believes every husband throws care for everything on the shoulders of a wife whilst they do zilch.

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Throughout the entire essay, the following line "I want a wife..." is utilized in many various lists of functions that a wife carries out. The application of "I" is repeated as well, and depicts the greediness in the husband's point of view, "I want a wife that will labor and pay me school fees". Another instance depicting selfishness in the article refers to "... a wife who will pick up following me". The article also uses inference in various sentences, "it abruptlytranspired to me that I would also want a wife".

There are different kinds of ways of the syntax's usage throughout the essay. Assorted style techniques like irony and repetition are utilized along with the physical technique of using stages of intimacy. Anaphora is one of the key styles techniques with recurrence of "I require a wife..." and the utilization of "my" and "I". This highlights the ideas she states through making her notions stronger and depicting the selfish points of views of her husband. She offers the readers different perspectives of a wife to compare it with an image in their mind, and to show the dominance of the husband over the wife.

For instance, a husband requires the wife 'with rambling complaints, the one who does not bother him, and types documents for him. He needs a wife with freedom, so he can attend study and school every time he wants. The wife should cook good meals, satisfy physical needs, plan the menus, clean up after him, do grocery, keep the house tidy, take care of the kids and his social life. Moreover, she must be perfect in a man's sexual requirements and quit working after he is done with his studies. Beside repetition, sarcasm is employed from the start of the narrative, preliminary with the heading.

Consequently, it can be observed that one of the main rhetorical devices used in this essay is repetition. It is applied to demonstrate the selfish behavior of young men and husbands who imagine a wife as an excellent servant. She is straight in the particulars while reiterating the issues that apprehend her in her life, "I require a wife that will plan the foods, do the essential grocery shopping, make meals, serve them enjoyably, and do the cleaning chores while I am studying". It simplifies the understanding what she is going through since she says that she would require a wife for her whilst she is the wife herself.

Another rhetorical device Brady used in this essay is irony. It is applied to increase humor and expand judgment on the indisputable fact that man's perception is based on gender discrepancies. "I need a wife who takes me to school and work". The title suggests the author or the narrator is a male in need of a wife. However, the reader comes to understand that the author is indeed a female. Throughout the story, there are endless regrets of being a wife. Nevertheless, the main idea that the narrator desires to own a wife brings both irony and sarcasm.

Irony is employed to send messages to males who desire to get perfect wives in future. Brady uses this metaphorical device to indicate that all males look for perfect wives, which is impossible. The author herself describes the faultless wife she wants to have as almost every man plans to get wives who will make their lives comfortable and stress-free. "I need a wife to clean my clothes". Males want to have wives who will maintain cleanliness in the house, buy and cook food, take care of them when they are sick, take charge of their social lives and look after their children when they are in school.

Imagery is also used in Brady's essay. This work paints a picture in the mind of the reader when the author lists things she wants the wife to do. Additionally, the author deeply describes the roles of women in the society. This creates a mental picture in the reader's mind and makes it easy to understand. Everything in the essay is described in a manner that an image is created in the reader's mind. The reader has an image of what the narrator is going through, which is a good way to detail the most essential ideas.

The tone used in the essay is humorous, sarcastic, ironic and casual. The author highlights multiple jobs that a wife does at home. Additionally, the wife is and is expected to perform several duties under different circumstances. It becomes obvious that narrator has been performing all these duties to her husband as well as the children. However, she is exhausted and desires to get a wife to help her perform these duties. Additionally, she describes the attitude men have when looking for a life. They desire to meet a person who will do everything useful and give them time to enjoy life. She describes how sexist and selfish notions of men are predominant.

In conclusion, I Want a Wife is a humorous essay that made a serious point of view. The author does not require a wife in the real sense. The examples given in the essay are sarcastic. Irony dominates in this piece of work, and it is used to educate men on the importance of treating wives like human beings but not slaves. Brady claims that she wants to get a wife who will work for her and take her children to school. The wife will help her in the work, especially when such work becomes economically independent. The essay lists duties that housewives were supposed to perform. However, men are never expected to accomplish the task for the unknown reasons. This led the author to desire a wife to enjoy the privileges men have.

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Judy Brady’s Article “I Want a Wife”: Analysis. (2023, May 26). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/judy-bradys-article-i-want-a-wife-analysis/

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