The excerpt from a 1950's high school home-economics textbook entitled How To Be A Good Wife contains the topic of women's roles in history which I have many opinions about. After reading through the excerpt once in class when we were asked, I was immediately astonished by the fact that this textbook was only from the 1950's. The opinion of the textbook writer seemed so different and completely impractical compared to today's ideas that I actually found the excerpt somewhat humorous. The role of women has changed greatly over the past hundreds of years, but when I realized that this idea of women being very domestic, serving, and self-sacrificing had gone all the way up through the 1950's in this country. In a matter of 60 some odd years the idea of women's roles in society and relationships has changed very much.
After reading this excerpt, I got the feeling that the males in that time wanted more of a peson to take care of them and nurture them, listen to their feelings, and wait on them hand and foot, like a mother. I feel that in today's society, males are looking for independent, equals, who are free-thinking and can make a great companion, not a self-sacrificial housekeeper who lives to serve their husbands. In the excerpt it states for the women to "prepare the meal for the husband, keep the children and atmopshere quiet, listen to him intently, and to make the evening his." In todays's society this idea might pertain to maids or workers for a ruch family in my opinion, but everyday couples are more equal towards each other. Instead of the women just doting on her husband and listening to his problems, the men make an effort to return the favor by listening to their wives and trying to make their lives easier as well.
When I was in family consumer science class, the teacher always directed everything towards all of the students, not just the females. Males were also required to take the class, which really sends a sense of equality through the sexes, showing that men can also do laundry and clean dishes and make dinner. I'm sure that at the time this home-economics textbooks was published and put into place in the 1950's, only women took the class.
Many of the novels and readings we have completed in class such as The Awakening, "The Yellow Wallpaper", and A Doll's House pertain to the idea of the doting and serving wife in past societal times. I believe that Edna wished to be free of this stifling life with her husband, and this fact contributed to her final decision to kill herself, because she knew that a change would not come in her lifetime. In A Doll's House, Nora leaves her husband Torvald in the end of the story, and I strongly believe that this oppressed life of being perfect and serving 24/7 contributed to her final decision to end her relationship with Torvald.
In other cultures and countries, women are still expected to act this way towards their husbands, being very domestic, serving, and obedient. I easily find that I can take this fact for granted because of the great way which the U.S. has evolved into a more equal society for men and women. Without this drastic change in the way women are expected to act towatds men/husbands, I believe that classes would still institue this literature into their curriculum, teaching children and the youth of the country that the oppressive roles which women are placed in are okay and ideal.
