1950s Housewife Rules

Some of us like to imagine ourselves in a domestic picture of bliss, replete with kitten heels, set hair and a frilly apron.

We might like to imagine that the fifties was time where ladies were elegant, roles were defined and life was… well…simple.

Think again dear readers and let us take a little peek into how life might have been for a housewife in the decade we look at with such wistful nostalgia.

I have included the most hard-to-swallow ones here, mainly for a laugh.

Many of the tips in the article (featured below) are simply spelling out ways to communicate with your partner, and be a loving wife, but some of them really are quite hard to believe.

The Good Wife’s Guide.

Extract from Housekeeping Monthly, 1955.

• 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 come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) 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.
• 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 that yours.
• Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you.  Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
  Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• 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 excercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.