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Jennifer Jordan's 'The Wife'

710 Words3 Pages

Imagine sleeping next to a stranger. Closing your eyes and rolling over knowing that the person that lies beside you is not a foe. That is how some marriages are. “The Wife” by Jennifer Jordan is a heart-jerking short story that takes a look into an unhealthy marriage. “The Wife” shares a sweet glimpse into the life of a couple before marriage while later contrasting it with a present day view, twenty-five years after marriage. Full of lust and then betrayal, the short story is enough to scare one from falling in love with the ambitious, arrogant type. In The Wife, Jennifer Jordan uses a story as a call to action to the unequal condition that some marriages endure, and the need for gender equality in all aspects including behind-closed-doors …show more content…

With the use of verbal irony, the narrator sets the tone for the story as she recalls her later-in-life- husband is eyeing her up and down from behind on their first date. “In his presence she always felt she was being judged and found wanting.” (403). While being wanted in human and a legitimate desire for everyone to want, it does not amount to love. Being judged by someone constantly is not a testament of love; it proves a lack of love. Like the common misunderstanding for lust and love, one often mistakes control for caring, when once again the two do not share similar …show more content…

The narrator relays this lesson through her use of imagery as she is lying next to the man she is sadly married to, and just caught him in an affair. “She knew she wasn't going anywhere. She didn't have the energy. Some days she even thought she loved him.” (411) It is the saddest thing in the world when a woman feels inferior enough towards her man that she would rather suffer in silent sorrow than leave for a chance at a new life. If a woman find the courage to leave then she has won half the battle for it is evident that she at least sees enough worth in herself to attempt for something

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Marriage is usually perceived as a momentous event that finally unites man and wife as equals. However, in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the protagonist, faces the contrary. Although her second husband, Jody, treated her as an equal during the beginning of their relationship, she eventually is treated as a lesser part of their union as he asserts his dominance over her. After the death of Jody, Janie eventually found Tea Cake, who treated her fairly throughout their relationship, as shown through his natural willingness and patience to teach her how to play checkers. With their relationship, Janie experienced a marriage where she had the right to make her own decisions and express herself.

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