I Want a Wife Essay by Judy Brady Analysis

I Want a Wife, a short essay that appeared in 1972 Ms. Magazine takes feminism to a new level. Judy Brady mocks the roles of common household wives in the 1970's, and does so in a humorous and almost comical way. She also pokes fun at husbands in general. Her goal is to convince the audience that there are inequalities in married couples' relationships. She uses appeals and figurative languages to strengthen her argument. However, her bias towards the topic takes away some meaning.

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Brady appeals to her audience using the appeals of Ethos and Pathos throughout the essay. Her essay begins with the statement, "I belong in that category of people called wives." I am A Wife. She is a wife. She suggests that all the housewife jobs she mentioned were performed by her. She concludes the essay by stating that she used Pathos appeal to say, "My God! Who wouldn't want a wife?" This appeal is incredibly powerful and hits all readers who are emotionally involved. It makes the audience reflect on what they've read and gives them a sense of urgency to take action. Logos is used to list all her duties, which we assume she must perform. Brady uses this technique to show that women can do too many things. These appeals are used strategically throughout her writing to gain an audience advantage.

Brady uses figurative language a lot in her writing. They mostly enhance the effect of the essay. Her use of repetition is one example. Nearly every sentence begins with "I want to be a wife." This makes her point stronger, and more concrete. This shows men see wives only as slaves to their needs. Brady uses Irony throughout the paper, making it appear as though a man wrote it. The article sends a message that the men are unlikely to find the wife they describe. "I want a wife that will clean the house, make a special dinner, and listen to my conversations about what interests me and my friends." This is a very unrealistic and exaggerated view of a real wife.

Judy sarcastically expresses her opinions, while showing her bias. The author demonstrates her feelings about her wife's role through many examples. Viewers might find it just another article by a wife complaining about her job and reacting too much. She exaggerates in every way and doesn't give credit to the men who do the work.

Conclusion

This essay was a great example of how to approach a topic that is still controversial today. Her use of appeals, figurative language and logic supports her assertions. All of this is exaggerated. It would be great to have a wife like her, but it is not realistic to expect a wife to do these things. Her bias makes it difficult to see the other side of the story, which is what husbands go through every day. While this is not applicable to me as a college student, it will be when I settle down that I will remember the assignment.