A wife who listens to good teaching and wise counsel will be better equipped to love her husband in various seasons: in times of triumph and tragedy, when he is easy to love and when he is difficult, before and after having children, and more. Women might have had the vote on the same terms as men since 1929, but for most that was pretty well the limit of their equality: working women were paid much less than men and despite the responsibilities and sheer hard graft many had endured in wartime, were still regarded as submissive and inferior beings. One of the traits of a good wife is her ability to give a listening ear because she knows it aids effective communication.

This book is a non stop page turner through the lives of women from all rungs of society in the 1950s. Ah, that trad wife ideal… with her spotless white apron and her sweet little smile, baking cherry almond pies, unbothered by the harsh realities of life… what a sad and creepy joke that is!

As maintaining a good wife role can be difficult, there are some ways that can help you overcome these challenges effectively. Whilst I realise that the serious study of history requires us to put aside personal judgement, I found this extremely difficult to do, especially when confronted with some of the stories of life at that time.

In North America, the big social shift of the decade was rural to urban whereas that wasn’t really the case in Britain.The Proverbs 31 wife is a capable woman who cares well for her family, plans for the future, is creative, entrepreneurial, and generous to meet the needs of others. It paves the way for mutual respect, where both partners value each other’s opinions and collaborate on major choices. Reading about how wrong they were in the 50s gives us a similar thrill of outrage to watching Mad Men on the early 60s. In the context of 1 Peter 3, Peter notes that an attitude of submission and pure conduct can even win over a disobedient husband to the faith.

For some women, it was a time of "ambitions, dreams and fulfillment," while for others, their stories combine to present a "narrative of fears, frustrations and deep unhappiness. Singled Out received a spate of enthusiastic reviews which applauded it as a pioneering and humane work of social history. Fascinating, well-written amount of women's lives in the 1950s with loads of social history and interviews. Liz, the daughter of an accountant in Lewes in Sussex, was having fun with the Young Conservatives at the time of Churchill’s triumph in the 1951 election: hunting, playing tennis, acquiring basic secretarial skills at Mr Box’s Academy in Brighton, or hooked into her full-length taffeta ball gown, wearing rose pink lipstick, dancing at the Young Farmers’ Club. And while Nicholson pays particular attention to women of the working class, we don’t hear much from the upper middle class – the women who followed their fathers and brothers into professions, becoming doctors and lawyers.Maintaining individuality while prioritizing the marriage’s well-being demands adaptability and patience. This might play out in organizing their schedule and family plans, meal planning for the week, or even managing finances—there is no prescribed list of chores in the Bible, so a wife has the freedom and stewardship to evaluate what is most helpful to her own husband.