I Want A Wife By Judy Brady

Throughout the years, women have been seen as someone to have children, someone to cook, someone to clean, and someone who does not deserve rights. In the essay "I Want A Wife," Judy Brady points out the different roles of a "wife" according to society at that time. I believe that Brady is sarcastically describing the ideal wife every man dreams of. Even though, women have been fighting for their rights for a long time now, even today women are still not equal to men in many ways. In today's society women are more respected and are acceptable for many jobs as men are, but still they are not treated equally all the times. Brady is a wife herself, and in her essay she wishes she had a wife that she described. Brady brings out all the different roles of the American housewife. From the beginning, Brady is being somehow sarcastic, but deep inside I believe she is scared and very tired of being a wife. She writes of how she wants to go back to school, while a wife at home would do all the housework and also would take care of the children. At the time when she wrote this essay, a wife was expected to do everything in and around the house and take care of all the appointments, vocations, etc.

Judy Brady paints a picture of somebody who will satisfy your every need and want, someone who will provide for you. Someone who will bring home the bacon, take care of the children, plan outings and gatherings. Someone who will do everything for you - needs - wants - wishes - you name it, and a wife will do it. If that wife should become unacceptable, or a better wife should come along, the previous wife is completely disposable. A wife is the perfect accessory to anyone's life.

At some point in our lives, we have wanted to have someone else do things for us. These things range from doing chores and tasks, such as laundry and cooking, to just keeping us satisfied in life, dealing with our mental, physical, social, and sexual needs. In Judy Brady's essay, "I Want a Wife", she explores why she would like to have a wife. Brady's style and structure contribute to her theme of female repression. Various style techniques, such as repetition and irony, are used along with the structural technique of using levels of intimacy.

One of Brady's main style techniques is the use of repetition. She is constantly describing what she wants in a wife and the duties that the wife should take care of: "I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties." Brady believes that the wife does everything and the husband does nothing but expect his wife to do everything. Her repetition of "I" shows the husband's selfish viewpoint: "I want