Irony In Judy Syf's Why I Want A Wife

The common outlook on family hierarchies is that the man presides on a pedestal. Most forget about the matriarch though. Within “Why I Want a Wife,” Judy Syfers strategically used irony, repetition, and informal language to emphasize how little men appreciate the essentialness of their wives.

Syfers wrote in the first person and through the usage of irony and satire, mimicked the insensitive attitude a husband has towards his wife. For instance, she proclaimed, “My wife must arrange to lose time at work [to take care of the children’s needs] and not lose the job.” It’s rather paradoxical to expect her to not receive any penalties from failing to show up at work when he requested this… Additionally, this exhibits how inconsiderate a husband

Throughout, she repeated the phrase “I want a wife who…,” followed by a job that a woman should do, ideally, in a man’s eye. For instance, she affirmatively stated, “I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean…” and, “I want a wife who cooks the meals…” This anaphoric repetition illuminated the derogatory positions men view their wives in: slaves to their every whim. Essentially, it’s similar to a “puppet master” who feels entitled to the idea that he can wield his marionettes in any manner he pleases. Syfers inclusion of intentional repetition symbolized the excessive needs and never ending requests of men as well. The persistent, “I want a wife who...” commands, arranged in an obnoxiously lengthy list, enhanced how narcissistic men are. Ignoring the fact that they’re capable of managing their own petty lives, they presume that their wives will

This implied that if men were to speak aloud of what they want in a wife, they would sound rather nonchalant. For example, she announced “I want a wife who takes care of the children… because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school.” In this incident, a man would automatically be putting himself first with this casual addition ––“of course”–– and assuming that he wouldn’t have to be involved. Following this, she expressed that, “It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income…, but I guess I can tolerate that.” Once again, the conceitedness of a man shines through. Although his wife would be missing work to deal with HIS children, and he offered no assistance, he speaks uneasily and makes the pay-loss sound like a burden. Likewise, his assumption that his wife will take care of what he doesn’t want to can be seen within the statement, “Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for [the children’s care] while my wife is working.” His unconcerned “needless to say” validates his reliance, whether he admits it or not, on his wife and that taking care of details is a common and expected duty of