Journal 3

Washington Irving "The Wife"

This writing is interesting because Irving is obviously trying to commend the "softer sex," by saying that women are infinitely suited to comfort men. I think for his time Irving was probably considered to be more liberal where women were considered. It wasn't often that an author would write an entire story devoted to the goodness of women. However, Irving fails at being truly fair to women.

Irving uses the metaphor of an oak tree that is covered in ivy. When the oak is struck by lightening the ivy still holds up the once mighty tree. The man being the oak tree and the woman the delicate, but tenacious ivy. This is a pretty image, and goes along with the saying: "behind every man is a good woman."The only flaw is that the woman has no role of her own, the ivy has no form unless it is the "foliage around the oak."

After the oak metaphor Irving goes on to say, "married men falling into misfortune, are more stimulated to exertion by the necessities  of the helpless and beloved beings who depend upon them..." (Belasco 526). Apparently married men who incur troubles are more likely to try and fix their situation because they have people who depend on them, like their wives. But how many men wouldn't have gotten themselves into trouble if they had treated their wives as equals? Irving's friend, the doating husband, who obviously loves his wife very much, loses his money because, "it was the mishap of my friend, however, to have embarked his fortune in large speculations" (526). I don't know how intelligent this mans wife was, but based off of her reaction of supporting and comforting her husband, she obviously didn't marry him for his money, she wouldn't have cared if he increased his fortune, so she would have, if he had confided in her, told him not to tie his money up in risky business.