This slide is prepared for classroom purpose

1. I Want a Wife
Judy Brady
Presentation by Shashi Kayastha Kaspal

2. About the Writer
• Feminist Activist
• Active in women’s movement since 1969
• Writer and Editor
• Suffering from breast cancer
• Active in politics of cancer too.
• Edited “One in Three: Women with Cancer Confront an Epidemic(1991).

3. Background
• “I Want a Wife” first appearedin the premiere issue of the feminist
Ms. magazine in 1972
• The National Organization for Women, established in 1966,
• This year is the climax of feminism.
• The Equal Rights Amendment, barring discrimination against women, passed
in Congress (although it was ratified by onlythirty-five of the
necessary thirty-eight states).
• Congress also passed TitleIX of the Education Amendments Act, which
required equal opportunity (in sports as well as academics) for all
students in any school that receives federal funding.

4. Tone of the Essay
• Sarcastic, Ironic, Satire , Rage , humorous, rebellious
• Contemporary image of wife.
• What was commonly expected from a wife.
• Stereotypical duties of a wife before feminist movement and male
expectation to have wife as such.

5. Point of View
• Feminist point of view
• Represents the male perspective and desires of the time

6. Rhetorical Effect of the Starting of the Essay
• I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am a wife. And,
not altogether incidentally, I am a mother.
Classify the average women.
 Gives background of the essay.
 Points of the stereotypical duties of women in a single line.
Presents the feminist point of view

7. Anecdote
• “Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a
recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is
looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one
evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife.
Why do I want a wife?”

8. Satirically Presents the Duties of Wife
• Take Care of Children
• Take Care of all physical need by handling the home and family.
• Take care of social life
• Sensitive to the sexual , emotional need of husband
• Always respect husband and give liberty to his choices to have another wife.

9. Take Care of Children and husband
• Work herself and send her husband to study
• Give all care to students such as feeding, taking care of their health , school,
friends , nutrition , take them to park etc.
• She should lose time at work and not lose the job in his need.
• Arrange and pay for the care of the children

10. Take Care of all physical need by handling the
home and family.
• Keep the house clean .
• Wash, iron, mended and replace the clothes of family and children .
• Keep husband and children's personal things in right place.
• Go to groceries, cook different menus , serve them pleasantly
• Take care and sympathies when they are sick .
• Go along with family in vacation and take care of them.

11. Take care of social life
• When husband and wife are invited by the friends , she needs to do baby
sitting arrangement.
• Take care of guest , prepare special mea and serve them.
• No interruption to the topic they chose to talk with the guest.
• Take care of the need of the guest.
• No interruption when husbands spend night out.

12. Sensitive to the sexual , emotional need of
husband
• A wife who makes love passionately and eagerly
• A wife who makes sure that husband is satisfied.
• Will not demand sexual attention when he is not in the mood for it.
• Remain sexually faithful.
• Give liberty to replace hersef with another one.

13. Style and Structure
• Repetition “I want a wife” : Anaphora : emphasize the duty and
responsibilities of wife by the repetition. It makes her idea stronger and
standout forever.
• Parallelism: Similar structure of the sentences
• Hyperbole: Exaggeration of idea where wife has been presented of slave.
• No use of personal pronoun because here wife is not a biological
phenomena rather a stereotypical role or the image of spouse specially the
female but it can be male too.

14. • The End