A section of a Home Economics Book published in 1950 offering “tips to look after your husband” was recently shared on Reddit. and includes advice telling women to be quiet and take off a man’s shoes. The “guidelines,” I guess, of housewives in that era…are truly something else.
So, how much have relationships changed in the last few decades?
Well, the book instructs women to:
- Have dinner ready – This lets your husband know you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs.
- Prepare yourself – “Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking,” the book advises.
- Clear away the clutter – Clean up before the husband gets home from work so “he will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order.”
- Prepare the children – Clean up the kiddos, too, so the Mr will get to see them presented as the “little treasures” they are.
- Minimize all noise – This includes eliminating the noise of household appliances and “encouraging the children to be quiet” and not greeting him “with problems or complaints.”
- Make him comfortable – Have a drink and a comfortable place for him to sit when he gets home from a long day at the office. And don’t forget to “offer to take off his shoes” and to “speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice.”
- Listen to him – “Let him talk first” and be engaging as “his boring day may need a lift.”
- Make the evening his – Stuff your own feelings down and “never complain if he doesn’t take you out to dinner” but instead to “try to understand his world of strain and pressure.”
- And don’t forget “The Goal” – Which is “to make your home a place of peace where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.”
Source: Newsweek