Blog #5

I think that Judy Brady’s essay “I Want a Wife” is brilliant. It points out how most men want their wife to be utterly supporting of all of their wants and needs and have practically none of her own. I admire that Brady has the gumption to state things as men may unconsciously or consciously see them without shrinking from the issues such as being compliant to what the man wants when it comes to sex, or divorce, or paying for the husband’s school. She writes her essay from the stance of being envious of those that have wives, when she is a wife herself, this in its self makes the essay memorable, but Brady takes it farther. She is making a statement about the unfairness of the expectations that men have in a marriage. Women are supposed to do anything that the man wants them to do and do it without complaint, they are expected to be accepting of the man’s dalliances with other women and if the man leaves them to accept almost sole responsibility for their children. This essay is all about men’s expectations and how the woman must acquiesce and give in to those expectations. There is nothing that is not to be admired about this essay, it has a wonderful sense of irony and humor while discussing its topic. Brady’s essay is persuasive in that it is telling its readers, which would be predominantly female, how ridiculous it is that they give in to the unfair expectations that men have to their wives. It is trying to convince women that they should be able to dictate their lives when it comes to what they decide to do for the man or not. Brady just wants to convince women of the ridiculousness of how much a man wants a woman to give to a relationship just so that he always has the opportunity to leave it.

Medea’s situation fits in with Brady’s essay perfectly. Medea had done everything that Jason could have asked for and more. She had helped win the Golden Fleece, she murdered her own brother so that they could escape, she bore his children and raised them, she complied with every possible request Jason could have had. Yet, Jason left her for a younger princess and thought it reasonable that she just quietly take the children and get out of his hair. Medea is the epitome of Brady’s essay, she is the woman that did everything that could possibly asked of her, and yet was supposed to leave quietly when her services were no longer needed and too take all responsibility for the children so that Jason could be free to beget new sons with his new wife.