Deciding between marriage and alternative life paths

Judy Brady's "I Want a Wife"

Judy Brady's 1971 essay "I Want a Wife" describes in rather exaggerated detail the role that society expects a wife to fulfill in relation to her husband. This essay gives the wife full responsibility for the chores related to house and home as well as all duties regarding children. The wife is described as the sole caretaker of both husband and children. While much of what Brady say is still highly applicable to the role of a modern wife, Brady's essay does not address relationships that are structured in non-traditional ways, wherein husband/male and wife/female are no longer paired. Brady's essay is applicable to a modern setting in the way it characterizes women, and the way it describes relationships, but not applicable in its exaggeration of the fact that all women are wives.

Brady's essay is still highly applicable in the way it characterizes wives. Wives are still expected to be both support structure and source of nurture for their families. Whether or not the wife works outside the home, she is still responsible for things such as meals, scheduling, and general household cleaning. When such things are not done in a house, it is the wife who is held responsible for it by the outside world. The essay is also extremely accurate in regards to the attitude toward women and birth control. While both men and women are equally responsible for birth control, women are still considered at fault if accidental pregnancy occurs. Despite the age of the essay, it points out stereotypes that still apply, especially regarding the ways in which women are considered to be responsible for their household, even in areas where their husbands have direct input and influence.

In addition the essay is correct in the way it illustrates relationships. It portrays the societal attitude that all women who are married must be wives, and thus fulfill the role of wife as described, including being nurturing caretakers and responsible for the entire household. Society still considers the married woman to be a "wife" in the way that Brady describes. This encourages a sexist view of women, because it confines them to a domestic role. In the essay, even working women are responsible for household chores, and their jobs are considered less important than their husbands. Individuals still feel this way today, as demonstrated by women's lower wages. In this way, Brady's essay is not exaggerated in its describable of the husband and wife relationship.

The essay is however exaggerated in the way it describes nearly all women who are married as wives. In modern society, not all women choose to marry, and of those, not all take on a domestic role. The essay exaggerates how many women take on the "wife" role. Modern society allows women to take on different roles, and relationships to follow different models. Despite this, the essay is not meaningless. Even women who choose not to be wives make less than their male counterparts, making that portion of the essay universally applicable. In addition, unmarried women are treated as responsible for birth control, just as wives are in the essay. While it overestimates how many women become wives, the essay none the less remains meaningful for women as a whole, because it gives an accurate view of the way women are still treated by society.