“I Want a Wife” & “Why I Want a Husband” Response Questions

1. Do these essays have a traditional, explicitly stated thesis?  If so, what is it (for each)?  If you

believe the thesis or purpose is implied for both essays, paraphrase each in your own words.

      I do not think that these essays have explicitly stated thesis. The purpose of a thesis is to tell a reader what they are to expect. From reading the first paragraphs of the essays I do not understand the true meaning of the essay until I read a little further.  

2. Throughout the essay, Brady repeats the words “I want a wife” and Fernsler repeats “I want a

husband.”  What is the effect of this repetition?

     I think that these words are repeated to remind the reader how unimportant or unappreciated they (the writers) feel. I also think they repeat the words to keep the reader connected to the idea of what a husband or wife is (or does).

3. Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines.  Why do you

think she makes this choice?  What about Fernsler’s pronoun usage?  Is he equally “genderless”? 

How does his pronoun usage impact or affect the essay?

     I think that Brady never uses the personal pronouns he or she to refer to the wife she defines because one, she is referring to herself, and two she wants the reader to relate. Using he or she gives the impression that she is talking about someone else, not herself or the reader.  Fernsler does use the pronoun he. I believe Fernsler used the pronoun “he” in the essay because he stated in the introductory paragraph that he is not a husband, so maybe he cannot relate. His use of the pronoun within the essay makes me think of some unknown person. I don’t feel as though the writer is completely relating, nor do I relate as I did with Brady’s essay.

4. The first and last paragraphs of each essay are quite brief.  Why do you think Brady and

Fernsler chose to write such short introductory and concluding paragraphs?  What effect does it

have on the reader?

     I think that the introductory and concluding paragraphs were so brief because the body of the essay held all of the substance. The writers did not have to say much to introduce or end the essay because all the thoughts were put into the body.

5. Do you think both authors really want the kind of wife and husband each describes—does this

ideal spouse actually exist?  Explain why you think Brady wrote her essay in the early 1970s—

and then what motivated Fernsler to respond in the late 1980s...what does each essay say about

the time period in which they were written?

     I think that ideally the authors would like to be the type of spouse that they have described, although I think that they know they do not exist. I think that the duties and traits that the authors described were ones that are expected, ones that are ideal, and ones that society says we should have, or this is how we should act in this role. No man or woman can be the perfect husband or wife, but I think each writer was trying to explain the pressures and at times, unrealistic expectations that each role holds. I think that each writer was trying to achieve appreciation more than anything else. I think that Brady was inspired to write her essay because the 70’s were a time of women’s movement. Women were starting to speak out against the role that they had been placed in. I think that Fernsler wrote his essay in response to Brady’s essay, as well as to explain that men too have a lot of responsibility as a husband. The 1980’s were a time when men especially had to prove themselves, show that they were head honcho, and maybe had more pressure and responsibility than women did.