Rhetorical Analysis Of Why I Want A Wife

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In the 1970’s women were expected to stay at home and take care of the household. They were usually not expected to further their education, but instead take care of the children or tend to their husbands’ needs. In 1972 Judy Brady decided to let the readers of Ms. Magazine know how she felt about her “duties”. In her short essay, “Why I Want a Wife,” Brady uses pathos to connect and appeal to the reader’s emotions while explaining why she wants a wife. Throughout her essay Brady uses sarcasm to let her readers know that what she is wanting in a wife is absurd and somewhat humorous :“I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties” (229). In the 1970s this was expected of many women and since Brady uses …show more content…

A good example of this is from paragraph seven: “I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it: a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied” (230). This type of example would serve to stir up some anger or outrage for what is being expected of women at the time making the reader delve deeper into their emotions. Next Brady uses the example of if she ever wanted to replace her current wife with another: “If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another… I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them” (230). After reading this the reader would most likely feel quite upset at the thought of this happening to them; thus firmly connecting Brady to her readers through pathos. In her short essay, “Why I Want a Wife,” Brady uses pathos to connect and appeal to the reader’s emotions while explaining why she wants a wife. Throughout her essay Brady used sarcasm and outlandish claims to incite a strong emotional reaction from her readers. I too was shocked by her requirements for a wife and the fact that women in that time period were expected to follow these requirements. Brady has done an excellent job of appealing to the readers using pathos while explaining how absurd the expectations of wives