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Julia Cooke

Erin Day

English 1010

4 November 2019

Inequality in Married Couples

Men and women have their specific roles in society and marriage, at least in 1970 they

did. As a stereotypical marriage went, the man went to school and got an education while his

wife worked. Once the husband graduated and got a job, his wife would have to quit and become

a full time housewife and mother of their children. This meant keeping up on everything in the

house, including her husband’s and children’s every need. In 1970, Judy Brady, a feminist and

activist, wanted to challenge these stereotypes with a statement of her own. In her essay, “I Want

a Wife,” she wrote based on a speech she had delivered in San Francisco at a rally that marked

the fiftieth anniversary of women’s suffrage in America, she wanted people to realize the role

that women play in society. She wanted her audience, the American population, to believe in the

inequalities presented in a married couple’s relationship and confront the idea that women were

treated unfairly in marriages. Brady uses an abundance of satire on top of her use of ethos and

pathos in order to show the reader how women play their role in marriage, and prove her point in

it being unfair.

As more and more people were fighting for civil rights throughout the twentieth century,

the women’s rights movement was started. Even fifty years after women’s suffrage, women still

fought for ways to be equal to men. Feminism was on the rise, as women wanted more to their

lives than being a stereotypical housewife. Women wanted more opportunities for work and
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school. This led to a rise in feminism, which is still on the rise even today. This inequality in the

domestic setting prompted these feminists and other activists to speak out. These feminists and

other activists address the public, and Judy Brady specifically addresses the American public.

She wanted to tell the American public about the inequalities in a married couple’s relationship

and that the women are treated unfairly.

There were multiple ways Brady gained credibility to establish ethos. Her personal

history was the start of her credibility. She was a known activist and feminist before her speech

given in San Francisco, 1970, and writing her essay based on that speech. She starts her essay

with, “I belong to that classification of people known as wives,” and continues with, “...I am a

mother,” (Brady 1). Brady pointing this fact out at the very beginning is for the reader to know

that she is credible before they read anything else. Her gaining that credibility before anything is

very important for the reader so they can trust what she is going to say throughout the entire rest

of the essay. She also makes it very simple for them to understand her by keeping her points

short and concise.

She also uses satire throughout her essay. She is extremely sarcastic in making her point.

She writes, “I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s

duties,” (Brady 1). Prior to the sentence, she has a list of examples of how a wife needs to take

care of the physical needs of her husband and children, which makes the entire tone of this

passage extremely sarcastic. Her sarcasm and satire is a way of her trying to draw attention to her

purpose of the unfairness and inequalities of married couples.

Another great use of satire that she writes is, “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 will make
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sure I’m satisfied,” And continues with, “I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention

when I am not in the mood for it.” (Brady 2). This is when she makes one of her biggest points

with her satire. She illustrates the idea perfectly that women are just for men to use. She made

this an extremely hypocritical point as a way to talk and illustrate the unfairness or inequalities

wives had to face. She is trying to show that nothing should be about a wife, the relationship

revolves around the husband and the husband’s needs.

As a wife writing this, she already has credibility, but it also gives her a way of pathos

and drawing out an emotional response from the reader. Her readers are going to be mostly

women agreeing with her message among the rest of the American population. This essay,

seemingly written through the eyes of an actual wife, pulls at what women hate and how they

feel about such a controversial topic of the time. The entire essay seems to make women into an

object and wifes into a tool. She writes, “[If] I find another person more suitable as a wife than

the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one,” (Brady

2). This is a perfect example of how a man can look at a woman. She makes it seem as if women

are a toy for men to use or something disposable. It is a statement like this that causes the reader

to feel something, whether it is sad or angry, she is finding a way to pull at the emotions of the

reader.

Brady continues her use of pathos throughout her essay with,“I want a wife who will take

care of the details of my social life,” (Brady 1). Brady continued on with another list of examples

of what a wife needs to do for her husband and his guests in order to please them all. This shows

her point of how women were also used as tools. If a woman can’t cook or clean good enough,

can’t get the kids ready fast enough, whatever it is, they can be disposable. This assertion once
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again evokes emotion in the reader through her bold statement. It shows the truth of the situation

whether the reader likes it or not, causing them to feel anger, sadness, sympathy, any sort of

emotion.

Brady put her ideas into a list and she numbered her paragraphs one through ten. Each

point has a different main topic and each is started with that topic sentence to set the tone of the

paragraph at the very beginning. This makes it easier for the reader by cutting directly to the

point by knowing exactly what the entire paragraph will be about. Brady also uses a lot of

repetition throughout her essay. She repeats the phrase, “I want a wife who…” and other similar

expressions. This adds emphasis and unity to all of her points. By using this phrase, she has the

readers in her own mind, and even the mind of a man or husband. This also pulls her essay

together by using the same phrase for many different points.

In Brady’s essay she found ways to prove her points by the use of a great deal of satire.

She also found her way of using and establishing ethos, and pulling at the readers emotions with

pathos. She does this all to show the reader how women play their role in marriage, and prove

her point in it being unfair. Brady established ethos with a lot. She was a known activist and

feminist, and a wife and mother of her own. She was able to pull at the emotions of the readers

by giving them explicit details of what it was really like to think like a man. This includes how

they view women. Last she used satire throughout her entire essay. This continued to paint a

picture to the readers. It was her way of also trying to bring attention to the issue without

steamrolling her male readers. Judy Brady was right in the question, “Who wouldn’t want a

wife?” (Brady 2).