Blog Entry #3

In Irving's sweet, short story "The Wife", he allows us to see a few things regarding American values at this point in society. The values of marriage, women, and economics are all presented here, and I will say it was interesting to see how some values are the same, and how some have changed. Regarding women, times have definitely changed. In the story, the narrator first describes a man's position in marriage, and describes women as being helpless and dependent (unsurprisingly). It is interesting to see this because now days there are countless families where the women are the only one's in the marriage with a job, or both man and women work together for their family. Women in today's world are no longer helpless by any means. Leslie the husband is nervous what his wife's reaction will be when she finds out that they are going to be living in a more poverty-stricken lifestyle. To his surprise, his wife is always there for him and is supportive of what has happened to them and never complains once, which was the exact opposite of how he thought she would react. This is a marriage value that I appreciate, and I think that this is a good example of a strong marriage; one that is bound by support, love and a deep companionship that lasts even when lifestyles have to be changed, especially for the worse. His wife never made one complaint about their lifestyle and was supportive of her husband during their rough times. In terms of economics values, those have not changed either; in today's world each and every one of us has to admit that how much money we make is a big factor in our satisfaction of life--we are so easily confused with money and happiness. There was still a value on living a lavish lifestyle and being able to attain every tangible object, but despite Mary and Leslie's economic issue, they were able to still live a happy life and still found many joys in living in a less lavish home with a more simple interior.