The faithful wife archetype is shown throughout history. In simple terms, it means that in a pair of husband and wife, the wife does what the husband wants and is completely faithful to him. This is often embodied by women cooking, cleaning, caring for children, and doing other household chores. The latter part is displayed by the wife staying with the husband at all times or staring at him. This is mostly done in art and literature as in modern media, the concept of not leaving ever is viewed as mildly disturbing. These ideas can be seen in multiple medias and time frames.
Paradise Lost illustrates this archetype through Adam’s view of Eve. Adam says “for nothing lovelier can be found / In woman, than to study household good, / And good works in her husband to promote”(Milton, 232-234). This displays the idea of a faithful wife perfectly. He begins with equating this to beauty; effectively stating that the most beautiful thing that can happen is a wife serving her husband and minding the house. This perpetuates the archetype by positively associating it with the first woman and saying that this model should be followed. Adam also says “These paths and bowers doubt not but our joint hands / …till younger hands ere long / Assist us.” (Milton, 244-247). This further illustrates the faithful wife archetype by stating that Eve is to stay by Adam, “joint hands”, and bear him young to help with the work. These show more requirements that must be met to be qualified as a faithful wife. Adam asks them of Eve and creates a precedent of what husbands ask of their wives in years to come. The telling of the story is not the creation of the faithful wife archetype, but if the story is taken to be true, then it is the record of the creation.
The faithful wife stereotype did not disappear after Adam or even in the consecutive years since Milton wrote Paradise Lost. It can be seen in modern media too. In the video with a compilation of commercials, most illustrate this archetype. Women are shown cooking, cleaning, and caring for children while men are often not present, putting down the women, or doing something that is typically associated with being masculine. The clearest example of this is the commercial is for the Hasbro Rose Petal Cottage. The commercial features a young girl playing in the cottage by pretending to bake and care for baby toys and toys supposed to represent young children. It even features the voiceover saying that the girl can “entertain her imagination” while showing her doing laundry. All of these behaviours are found in the faithful wife archetype. The child is shown to aspire to cook, clean, and care for children just as the archetype dictates. However, this is not so much a resurgence of the archetype, so much as a continuation. Art between the two time periods illustrates this pattern.
American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood in 1930, portrays a couple, a woman and a man, standing in front of their home. The woman is standing behind the man and looking directly at him. She is wearing an apron that matches the curtains on the house and is extremely clean. The man, however, is staring at whoever views the picture, as if he is welcoming guests into his home. He is dirty, holding a pitchfork, and simply wearing a jacket over overalls. This difference in appearance serves to tie the woman to the house and the man to the outdoors. The apron suggests that the woman has recently been cooking or cleaning, both aspects of the faithful wife archetype. The stare directed to the man implies that she is looking to him for what to do next. This aspect is also present in Paradise Lost as Adam assumes that Eve will listen to him.
The faithful wife archetype is ever present in commercials today, and can easily be seen in art and literature of the past. It is often perpetuated by simple things, such as showing a woman cooking in a commercial instead of a man. This archetype could easily be broken, yet it is seen repetitively from before Milton’s time to modern day. It is enduring and common. The embodiment of the archetype has not changed severely. This can easily lead to the question of what is so timeless about the archetype that so little has changed over so much time.
Paradise Lost illustrates this archetype through Adam’s view of Eve. Adam says “for nothing lovelier can be found / In woman, than to study household good, / And good works in her husband to promote”(Milton, 232-234). This displays the idea of a faithful wife perfectly. He begins with equating this to beauty; effectively stating that the most beautiful thing that can happen is a wife serving her husband and minding the house. This perpetuates the archetype by positively associating it with the first woman and saying that this model should be followed. Adam also says “These paths and bowers doubt not but our joint hands / …till younger hands ere long / Assist us.” (Milton, 244-247). This further illustrates the faithful wife archetype by stating that Eve is to stay by Adam, “joint hands”, and bear him young to help with the work. These show more requirements that must be met to be qualified as a faithful wife. Adam asks them of Eve and creates a precedent of what husbands ask of their wives in years to come. The telling of the story is not the creation of the faithful wife archetype, but if the story is taken to be true, then it is the record of the creation.
The faithful wife stereotype did not disappear after Adam or even in the consecutive years since Milton wrote Paradise Lost. It can be seen in modern media too. In the video with a compilation of commercials, most illustrate this archetype. Women are shown cooking, cleaning, and caring for children while men are often not present, putting down the women, or doing something that is typically associated with being masculine. The clearest example of this is the commercial is for the Hasbro Rose Petal Cottage. The commercial features a young girl playing in the cottage by pretending to bake and care for baby toys and toys supposed to represent young children. It even features the voiceover saying that the girl can “entertain her imagination” while showing her doing laundry. All of these behaviours are found in the faithful wife archetype. The child is shown to aspire to cook, clean, and care for children just as the archetype dictates. However, this is not so much a resurgence of the archetype, so much as a continuation. Art between the two time periods illustrates this pattern.
American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood in 1930, portrays a couple, a woman and a man, standing in front of their home. The woman is standing behind the man and looking directly at him. She is wearing an apron that matches the curtains on the house and is extremely clean. The man, however, is staring at whoever views the picture, as if he is welcoming guests into his home. He is dirty, holding a pitchfork, and simply wearing a jacket over overalls. This difference in appearance serves to tie the woman to the house and the man to the outdoors. The apron suggests that the woman has recently been cooking or cleaning, both aspects of the faithful wife archetype. The stare directed to the man implies that she is looking to him for what to do next. This aspect is also present in Paradise Lost as Adam assumes that Eve will listen to him.
The faithful wife archetype is ever present in commercials today, and can easily be seen in art and literature of the past. It is often perpetuated by simple things, such as showing a woman cooking in a commercial instead of a man. This archetype could easily be broken, yet it is seen repetitively from before Milton’s time to modern day. It is enduring and common. The embodiment of the archetype has not changed severely. This can easily lead to the question of what is so timeless about the archetype that so little has changed over so much time.