Why do you want a wife? (10)

While interviewing my grandmother over spring break, we got on the subject of her parents and my grandfathers parents. What were they like? What were their roles in the house? My mother said that her parents were both very kind and loving people. Her father was very independent and never made his wife wait on him. If he needed something, he got it. He helped around the house and definitely did his share. How refreshing right? My grandfather’s household was a lot different. She said that his father was a farmer and when he stepped foot in the backdoor he immediately began barking orders at his wife. He would sit at the dinner table and not use full sentences. He would say things like, “BREAD. TEA.” “I don’t even think he knew how to pour his own tea,” said my grandmother. She finished by saying, “your grandfather knew that he never wanted to be like his father, and he isn’t.”

After reading through my interview and reading this part, it called my attention back to a short article we read earlier on in the semester, “Why I Want a Wife,” by Judy Syfers. This article is meant to be humorous, and it succeeded. Here is an excerpt from this article:

“I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I nee the minute I need it.”

The question is, “what do men want in a wife?” Do they want someone like my mother’s mother, someone who is kind and loving, and is well respected? Or do they want someone like my grandfather’s mother, who was ordered around every second of everyday? I don’t think every single man feels the way my grandfather’s father felt, especially now that woman have become much more respected in times like those, but its still a question that can keep you up at night.