I read Abigail Anthony’s essay “Insights from a 1949 Guide for Housewives” with amusement. I have to say, though I am one who generally thinks that the old ways were better, I was startled by this passage:
The archetypal husband is portrayed as ignorant, so when you have to adapt your routine after childbirth, [the guide’s author] Smallshaw writes, “even if you have always pressed your husband’s underwear, try putting it through the wringer only” because “ten to one he won’t even notice.” Still, he can be recruited for domestic service, and he’s potentially necessary for lifting heavy things. The “master of the house” might be willing to assist during spring cleaning “if approached diplomatically.” He is susceptible to flattery, with Smallshaw proclaiming that “a clever wife induces her husband to regard [cleaning] the boiler as his special province!” And while the authoritative “breadwinner” enjoys some privileges, such as receiving an alternative “grilled fillet with a little parsley butter” if he dislikes “steamed fish,” he occasionally deserves a bit of scolding, too.
Pressed underwear? Now what exactly would be the point of ironing one’s underoos? I can say with certainty that, in nine years of happy marriage, no one has ever pressed my undergarments. In this and other respects, I am beginning to wonder if Mrs. Wright has read this book. . . .
Speaking of which, something does indeed sound a little bit familiar here — what with this whole strategy using a bit of pointed “flattery” and a “diplomatic approach” to induce a husband to “regard [cleaning] the boiler as his special province!”
Oh, no! I think the wives might have us figured out!