10 Bits of Patronising Marriage Advice From Another Era

The world has come a long way and for many women, thankfully, our lot in life isn’t the same as it was for our grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

Women in the first half of the 20th century were expected to be obedient cooking and cleaning machines who did whatever their husbands wanted.

And if some of the marriage guides from back in the day are�anything to go by (written by men, of course), women were seen as being really bloody stupid too and needed patronising old bores to teach them about their place in the world.

Here’s some of the most gob-smacking doozies from yesteryear you’d better pay attention to if you want to keep your man (there’s no sarcasm font, so just pretend it was written in one).

1. Your biggest priority in life is to cook dinner:

“A social service meeting, an afternoon tea, a matinee, a whatnot, is no excuse for there being no dinner ready when a husband comes home from a hard day’s work.” �-�Reverend Alfred Henry�Tyrer, “Sex, Satisfaction and Happy Marriage”, 1951.

2. Nothing you�want to do is important:

“Change around your schedule so that you will always be there when your husband needs you, accept his emotional distortion, and to build up his self-esteem.” �Ladies Home Journal,�April 1950.

Caroline Duncan

Caroline Duncan is a freelance journalist and photographer with almost 20 years’ media experience in radio, magazines and online. She is also a mother of three daughters, and when she’s not writing or taking pictures, she’s extremely busy operating a taxi service running them around to various activities. She can’t sew and hates housework.

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