#7 Role of Women

In "I Want a Wife," Judy Brady does a good job of using irony and humor to convey her message that women are ill treated by their husbands. We can see that she too is probably subject to many of these criteria. Her anger grows as the essay progresses, and we begin to see the husband become more and more selfish in deciding what duties the wife must live by. What I don't like about the essay is how Brady lists all the different qualities of a wife. Most of the essay is just a long list. Her repetition of the same qualities just becomes over the top. She frequently refers to not being able to miss school as an excuse that a husband might use in order to shirk household responsibilities. The essay does a good job of appealing to all the wives during this time period and even now to feminists. It persuades women to reflect on their role in society and in their individual relationships. The last two paragraphs especially stand out when showing the hypocrisy of the husbands need compared to those of the wife. In a marriage of this type, the wife becomes more and more dependent on an unfaithful husband who will eventually get bored with her and find someone else to satisfy his needs. Women need to become less emotionally and financially dependent in order to prevent the continuation of this cycle.

In "Madea," Jason is portrayed as this type of husband. He takes complete advantage of everything Madea has to offer and then leaves her and the kids behind to marry a new wife. He does little even when Madea is to be exiled. Madea, who has played into Jason's hands up to this point, will act independently and take revenge upon her unfaithful husband and his new family.