Rachel Kline
Professor Grogan
4 October 2013
Rhetorical Analysis of “I Want A Wife”
In Judy Brady’s essay “I Want A Wife”, Brady argues that in a conventional marriage the roles
of husbands and wives are unequal, considering that a wife’s duties are expected to be more
challenging than a husband’s. Brady lists vivid examples of a wife’s tasks to try to convince women
to break this tradition. She effectively uses rhetorical tools like pathos and ethos, repetition and
irony as a style in order to persuade her audience and win their approval. It seems like Brady is
looking for women who will empathize with her, and men who will sympathize with her to realize
the many responsibilities that women hold.
Brady uses both pathos and ethos in her essay to evoke emotion and appeal. She uses pathos
