The Good Wife's Guide Analysis

The Good Wife’s Guide The Good Wife’s Guide was a medieval guide that gave women of the time an outline on how to be an acceptable society member. The three main parts that were covered in this guide were how to be a good holy woman, how to be a good wife, and how to be a good head lady and servant. The main concept of the guide is to have respect for the family and thyself. This concept shapes the way that all of the parts interlock. There are many similarities and differences to explore within this writing; this expose will touch on a few of the main points. The way that God and humanity are bound together is in an almost absent dictatorship way. There are many rules that must be followed in order to be a commendable holy woman. To pray during the right times and to dress …show more content…
Many of the “how-tos” in the guide reflect heavily on the time period of which it was written. In the ‘servant’ section of the guide, it explains how to keep garments fresh and without bugs or other vermin. This is similar in the way that the guide describes how to be a good wife, in which it is explained how to take care of simple household tasks. There is also an explanation of how to be a good head lady to the chambermaids, saying to keep the young maids in a room near yours to prevent them misbehaving (222). This guide would be particularly helpful for a new wife, maid or a person who converted to the religion later. The hierarchy of the guide is an almost feudalistic sort of organization. God comes first, before all else, the husband is in charge of the wife and the wife is in charge of the hired help. They all have similar roles as the master or as the follower. The husband must worship God, but must respect his wife, the wife must be obedient to her husband and God and respect her servants and the servants must respect God and their hiring family as well as each