I Need a Wife

Throughout history, they've been chained to their defining characteristics as tools and servants to their husbands. From the time of the publication of "I Want a Wife" to even today, their status as second class citizens has changed only marginally. As shown in Brady's essay, wives-the integral component of every marriage-are not just objects to be used, but are, above all else, people. Her choice of rhetoric uses consistent cataloging of the many roles of women: they are wives, "not altogether incidentally" mothers, appointment trackers, caregivers, "nurturant attendants", workers, house cleaners, cooks, cleaners, sympathizers, listeners, typists, and, of course, sex dolls. This listing is meant to support the once-upon-a-time fantasy she has of subverting gender roles and show everyone a profiling of the entire current female gender. The requirements of wives are astronomical, almost biblical in effort and energy, but she does not expect every woman to be the living embodiment of Jesus. Rather, she is addressing the completely unrealistic demands the husbands, the ignorant, and the bigots expect wives to deliver. To fight against the terrible lives that wives have historically faced, the physical beatings of drunk husbands with pink elephants in their eyes, the beatings of the pain and agony of childbirth, the daily emotional and mental beatings of dealing with children, the figurative beatings of the oppression from their numerous roles, Brady does not hold back when letting loose her frustrations. She does not want a wife. She needs it.