The Good Wife's Guide

Dale Carter · Dec 8, 2005

Kimbro - Don't feel badly, that article was likely never published in the past and is probably a a hoax. It is most often attributed to a high school home economics text, but receives other citations, as well. Being unable to determine an origin is usually a good sign of a hoax.

Could be true, but probably isnt. Although it does represent pretty well the state of affairs at that time, women were not THAT subservient in the 50's.

For more try - http://www.snopes.com/language/document/goodwife.htm

Nelson Atwell · Dec 8, 2005

I knew my marriage was over when I came home from a week-long trip to Germany. I arrived home on Valentine's Day, and my wife didn't even get off the couch when I arrived. She just continued watching television. She used to pick me up at the airport, but this time I had to get a ride home with a co-worker. I had brought a beautiful cuckoo clock home to her as a gift, but I decided not to even give it to her at that point.

I highlighted a few things in the 1955 article that shouldn't be very difficult for a stay-at-home spouse. I agree that no one wants to come home to chaos or a bunch of problems or issues as soon as they get home. That was true 50 years ago, is true today and will also be true 50 years in the future.

The Good Wifeâ€™s Guide

Housekeeping Monthly

May 13, 1955

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so youâ€™ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house before your husband arrives.

Gather up schoolbook, toys, paper etc and then run a dust cloth over the tables.

Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the childrenâ€™s hands and face (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasurers and he would like to see them playing in their part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Thy to encourage the children to be quiet.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first â€“ remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.

Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Donâ€™t greet him with complains and problems.

Donâ€™t complain if heâ€™s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Donâ€™t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.

Gypsy me · Dec 8, 2005

heck that's not even hard for a working mom/wife

Timmy-The-Ute · Dec 9, 2005

Here is some more for our young bride.

The following is a reprint from The Madison Institute Newsletter, Fall Issue, 1894:

INSTRUCTION AND ADVICE

FOR THE

YOUNG BRIDE

on the

Conduct and Procedure of the

Intimate and Personal Relationships

of the Marriage State

for the

Greater Spiritual Sanctity of this

Blessed Sacrament and the Glory of God

by

Ruth Smythers

beloved wife of

The Reverend L.D. Smythers

Pastor of the Arcadian Methodist

Church of the Eastern Regional Conference

Published in the year

of our Lord 1894

Spiritual Guidance Press

New York City

INSTRUCTION AND ADVICE FOR THE YOUNG BRIDE

To the sensitive young woman who has had the benefits of proper upbringing, the wedding day is, ironically, both the happiest and most terrifying day of her life. On the positive side, there is the wedding itself, in which the bride is the central attraction in a beautiful and inspiring ceremony, symbolizing her triumph in securing a male to provide for all her needs for the rest of her life. On the negative side, there is the wedding night, during which the bride must pay the piper, so to speak, by facing for the first time the terrible experience of sex.

At this point, dear reader, let me concede one shocking truth. Some young women actually anticipate the wedding night ordeal with curiosity and pleasure! Beware such an attitude! A selfish and sensual husband can easily take advantage of such a bride. One cardinal rule of marriage should never be forgotten: GIVE LITTLE, GIVE SELDOM, AND ABOVE ALL, GIVE GRUDGINGLY. Otherwise what could have been a proper marriage could become an orgy of sexual lust.

On the other hand, the bride's terror need not be extreme. While sex is at best revolting and at worse rather painful, it has to be endured, and has been by women since the beginning of time, and is compensated for by the monogamous home and by the children produced through it.

It is useless, in most cases, for the bride to prevail upon the groom to forego the sexual initiation. While the ideal husband would be one who would approach his bride only at her request and only for the purpose of begetting offspring, such nobility and unselfishness cannot be expected from the average man.

Most men, if not denied, would demand sex almost every day. The wise bride will permit a maximum of two brief sexual experiences weekly during the first months of marriage. As time goes by she should make every effort to reduce this frequency.

Feigned illness, sleepiness, and headaches are among the wife's best friends in this matter. Arguments, nagging, scolding, and bickering also prove very effective, if used in the late evening about an hour before the husband would normally commence his seduction.

Clever wives are ever on the alert for new and better methods of denying and discouraging the amorous overtures of the husband. A good wife should expect to have reduced sexual contacts to once a week by the end of the first year of marriage and to once a month by the end of the fifth year of marriage.

By their tenth anniversary many wives have managed to complete their child bearing and have achieved the ultimate goal of terminating all sexual contacts with the husband. By this time she can depend upon his love for the children and social pressures to hold the husband in the home.

Just as she should be ever alert to keep the quantity of sex as low as possible, the wise bride will pay equal attention to limiting the kind and degree of sexual contacts. Most men are by nature rather perverted, and if given half a chance, would engage in quite a variety of the most revolting practices. These practices include among others performing the normal act in abnormal positions; mouthing the female body; and offering their own vile bodies to be mouthed in turn.