Medea

          In the short essay I want a wife, Judy Brady writes from the perspective of a typical house wife, conjecturing all the possible reasons why a man desires a wife. Before the narrator responding to the question "why do I want a wife", she makes a slightly ironic conclusion, hinting that she, too, would like to have a wife. Through the exquisite employment of parallelism, she vigorously accuses men who demoralize the role of women and regard their wives as only someone who will fulfill their demands. At the end of the article, Brady exclaims "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?", criticizing the fact that husbands are bonded to wives not because of love but due to their laziness and selfishness. These prosecutions derive from details in everyday life yet they form a powerful stream that strikes readers' deepest minds. As an activist in the feminist movement, Judy Brady with her eloquent writing calls for a change. Though appealing, this short essay may be over exaggerated and negative in some aspects. When Brady attempts to encourage wives to step up for themselves, she also blazes out animosity between man and women which is never the resolution of eliminating the gender inequality in many marriages.
          In the essay, Judy Brady points out that a husband wants to have "the liberty to replace his present wife with another one" and have his former wife took the full responsibility of raising their children if he decides to pursue someone else. This scene is being very similar to one of the greatest Greek tragic play Medea which Jason, Medea's husband, leaves her in order to marry the princess of the Corinth. Jason, acting like a "typical husband", asserts that he betrays Medea due to family, for their children's stations will be advanced if they have a close relationship with their royal half-brothers. Instead of being an "ideal wife" and letting Jason free from his guilt of abandoning his family, Medea, having a distinct character, is willing to sacrifice life of her own children for revenge. While Medea's action seems to be absurd or even devastating, it is not up for no reasons. Being a sorceress and a princess of Colchis, Medea influences Jason and helps him to become successful in securing the Golden Fleece, just like how Brady suggests in her article that a husband expects his wife to support him both mentally and financially when he is further pursuing his study. Same to Brady's saying that a wife is demanded to be faithful to her husband, Medea's love for Jason is unconditional, for which she even murders her own brother and her father. In contrast, the audience can easily sense at the very beginning of the play that Jason does not love Medea from the bottom of his heart; otherwise, he will not betray her in any aspects. Even though Medea turns out to be a cruel and malevolent character, readers still hold partial sympathy to her since she is gradually being pushed to the margin of despair. Though being composed in different cultural and historical backgrounds, these two pieces have a lot in common, revealing the vulnerable roles that women play in the society.