I want to get married, but I don’t want to be a wife

Hena J Bryan questions the imbalance she sees between the sexes within marriage, and says she does not want to see herself diminished by traditional expectations – she isn’t alone

Desperate Housewives is one of my favourite television series. At least once a year, I rewatch it from start to finish, and each time, something new reveals itself. This time, it was Bree Van de Kamp’s marriage to Orson Hodge. Bree is often held up as the perfect example of a Proverbs 31 woman: faithful, devoted and unwavering in her commitment to the role of a wife. Despite being cheated on by her first husband and mistreated by the boyfriend who followed, she remains resolute in her understanding of what it means to be a ‘good wife’ to the man she eventually marries.