My Reflection on “Why I Want a Wife?”

Today we received an essay Why I Want a Wife  by Judy Brady from our English professor and I started reading it while I was on the subway coming back my home. The more I was reading it, the more I was getting thrilled by her writing style.

In her essay, Brady tries to deliver her message about gender disparities using her satire. She pokes fun at the traditional roles of a housewife taken for granted by the society. She describes the inner thoughts of the stereotypical males about the roles of their wives as a whole. Brady wrote this essay in 1971 but the fact is still very true in the contemporary society. 

In the first two paragraphs of her essay Brady identifies herself as a person who belongs to the ‘wives’ class and she describes the context of her frustration in reaction to one of her male friend’s initiative to search for another wife. With the progression of her writing she carefully portrays how the wives are treated to fulfill their husband’s desires and wants without having the right to complain about their overwhelming duties.

Brady rightly points out that the women are discriminated in every aspects of their lives. In most cases their jobs are not recognized. They cannot take part in decision making process even in their sexual lives. As Brady states, “I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it” (Brady, 123). She draws our attention by pointing out how selfish the husbands could be.

I agree with Brady that taking care of husband and children is considered as the primary role of women in our society. Though many women are doing jobs in today’s world, their main duty still remains same. 

Using her satire Brady wants to create the awareness among the women so that they can ask themselves where they stand and what they need to do. I think women need to stand up for their own sake. And certainly men should change their chauvinistic views and  come forward to end the gender inequality for the betterment of our society.