Tag Archives: Housekeeping Monthly

The only regret I have while writing this post is that I won’t be able to see the faces of my friends when they read this… the curled lips, disdainful eyes, and the general expressions of disbelief… Still, I’ll be hearing about it, I’m sure.

Seeking and receiving advice is a part of social life. So here is some advice for my readers with two X chromosomes. (And a word of caution to my XY readers: you take this to heart and grin too much, you do so at your own peril!)
 

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

 
Hit the ceiling yet? Here, read the rest of it for yourself. BTW, this advice doesn’t come from me; I have no desire to invoke a lynch mob to come after me. This is apparently advice provided by a ladies’ magazine called Housekeeping Monthly, in the 1950s. To be precise, published on May 13, 1955.
 

The third bullet point there, I don’t think it was intended as it sounds today!
 
And there is better yet to come. How about these?
 

• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

And here is the full list…
 

The last one is my favourite… yep, ‘A good wife always knows her place’. The only disagreement could what that place actually is! 🙂
 
This document in various formats has been in circulation for a while. And of course, its origin has been subject to deep enquiries. And the conclusion? It’s a fake! An out and out fabrication! Reasons for such an assertion are the facts that there was no publication with the name ‘Housekeeping Monthly’ and the picture used here has been taken from the cover of a magazine named ‘John Bull’ published in 1957. Also, the text of this has been circulating for a while before it first appeared in a published format.
 
So… considering that this was done as a kind of joke, who do you think would have come up with it? A man or a woman? Maybe it was a man, fingers on keyboard, in a daydreaming mood, indulging in a fantasy… giving words to his wishful thinking! Or could be a woman making absolute fun of what some men would expect from their wives if they could just make it so! What do you think?

~Ria