How Women Ought To Treat Their Husbands

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Sentry18

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This seems like a very sensible guide. :p


https://homemaking.com/hannah/good-wife-guide-funny-1950s/

‘Good Wife’s Guide’ From The 1950s Explains How Women Ought To Treat Their Husbands
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source: Telegraph / Photo: ADVERTISING ARCHIVES

I feel extremely fortunate to be born into a generation where women are respected and have rights. For centuries, this was certainly not the case, and women were treated as subservient, lesser beings. Thankfully, things have progressed, but it’s interesting to see how history treated women. In 1955, Housekeeping Monthly‘s May issue included a “Good Wife’s Guide” detailing how women should be treating their husbands in order to be the best wife and mother possible. If anything, the following “rules” serve as an important reminder of how far women in society have come.

1. 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.

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source: Girls Chase / Flickr

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

3. 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.

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

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source: Gettyimages

5. Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

6. 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.

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

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source: The Vintage Housewife

8. Be happy to see him.

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

10. 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 — remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

11. 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.

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Image by © Blue Lantern Studio/Corbis

12. 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.

13. Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

14. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

15. 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.

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

17. Don’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.

18. A good wife always knows her place.
 
"I feel extremely fortunate to be born into a generation where women are respected and have rights. For centuries, this was certainly not the case, and women were treated as subservient, lesser beings. Thankfully, things have progressed, but it’s interesting to see how history treated women. In 1955, Housekeeping Monthly‘s May issue included a “Good Wife’s Guide” detailing how women should be treating their husbands in order to be the best wife and mother possible. If anything, the following “rules” serve as an important reminder of how far women in society have come.

1. 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.

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

3. 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.

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

5. Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

6. 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.

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

8. Be happy to see him.

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

10. 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 — remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

14. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

15. 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.

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

17. Don’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.

18. A good wife always knows her place."
 
My how times have changed. This was certainly when women did not work outside of the home.

My wife actually sent that to me. She said while some of it was obviously outmoded garbage, some aspects of it still hold true (at least in spirit) like #8 and #13. She also added that the 'spirit of selflessness' went away with some of the "duties" but it shouldn't have.
 
Well, the dog is always truly HAPPY to see hubs when he walks through the door with all kinds of hugs and kisses with NO attitude.

Moral of my story.......get a dog!:doghouse:


In all seriousness though, I'm almost always happy to see him too and try to make his life easier since he works outside the home way more than I do. However, we are a team and are best friends so that certainly helps out with how we treat one another. Number 17 and 18 truly make me laugh. If he was the master of the house, he'd know where everything is....yet after all these years, he still doesn't know where I keep the laundry detergent, or the flashlights, or the..........o_O
 
I'm not spoiled but there are only a few points that my wife laughed at.
We are partners but she does the bulk of the in-house work and gardening. I do repairs and maintenance and all the building. I am usually the cook and she usually does the clean up in the kitchen although sometimes I do both or we trade.
Our "system" works for us and we each have things that we do alone or with others to maintain our separate natures. I will admit that I control the finances but I am more likely to allow her to spend our extra money while I save up for my goodies. I don't need the instant gratification and enjoy the process more than she.
 
If he was the master of the house, he'd know where everything is....yet after all these years, he still doesn't know where I keep the laundry detergent, or the flashlights, or the..........

Our faith tell us the man is the head of the household and the wife is a loving manager of home and family. She is to provide me respect, and I am to provide her love and tenderness. My wife and I believe it and live accordingly. I have heard her say: "He doesn't know where I keep the extra shampoo, but he would die protecting me, so it's a fair trade off". While we make most decisions together, if we are at odds it becomes a 51%-49% situation where my vote has just a touch more weight and she will yield. At the same time I don't expect to be treated like royalty. I do most of the cooking and cleaning in our home, with help from the kids of course. They have to earn their keep.
 
Our faith tell us the man is the head of the household and the wife is a loving manager of home and family. She is to provide me respect, and I am to provide her love and tenderness. My wife and I believe it and live accordingly. I have heard her say: "He doesn't know where I keep the extra shampoo, but he would die protecting me, so it's a fair trade off". While we make most decisions together, if we are at odds it becomes a 51%-49% situation where my vote has just a touch more weight and she will yield. At the same time I don't expect to be treated like royalty. I do most of the cooking and cleaning in our home, with help from the kids of course. They have to earn their keep.
A man in a group I was in at church said, "The man is the head of the household. The woman is the neck. Wherever the neck turns, the head goes there as well."
 
Two trees grow together in a field. They shelter each other from the winds that change direction and share the waters that fall from the sky and puddle at their feet. As the years progress the field becomes a forest of trees each supporting and being supported by those around it. This is a marriage and a family.
 
Like many others on here the wife and I do many of our own chores around the house. Help each other with different stuff as well. She does most of the canning, but I help with some things mainly because it speeds things up and we get more done. I do most all the planting and weeding in the garden and we share harvest duties. She does most housework, I mow, repair, and maintain things. She does most all the shopping, I maintain our financial transactions, taxes, etc. After 35 years it seems to work for us.
 
Just a few decades ago, it used to go both ways. Women (for the most part) treated men with respect and men (for the most part) treated women with respect.....at least in public. Nobody ever knows what happens behind closed doors. It was almost unheard of for men to disrespect their wives by swearing at them or hitting them. Now days, it sadly, is not shocking anymore.:( And, it was rare to hear a woman use the F bomb. Folks just seemed so much more tactful and dignified.
 
My wife commented to me the other day how disrespectful her newest (liberal) sister in law was to her brother (they were just married last year). After a couple days a conversation came up where she was able to naturally point out that by providing respect and support her behavior encouraged love and tenderness. Her sister in law responded by saying "men are like children, they have to be told what to do and disciplined when they don't obey". She is on her 3rd husband, no surprises there huh.
 
A husband should deserve to be honored and respected. I guess everyone is assuming that men deserve it, period. They are not perfect, but is everyone also assuming women are darn near perfect?
I have an idea of a perfect man, but then he certainly wouldn't be satisfied with the likes of me, no matter how perfect I try to be. I know I'm not. But I do know there are a few things I don't tolerate. We are all different. Some of us need to be guided, some of us guide. As a pair, there should always be mutual love, respect and honor.
 
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