I am stricken with the peculiar curse of being a 21st-century woman who makes more than the man she’s living with—first with a husband for 13 years and now with a new partner. It’s an increasingly common situation, according to a study that found that the, proportion of American marriages in which the wife makes more money rose to 22 percent in 2007 from 4 percent in 1970. ① I don’t know how it’s going for my sisters, but as my 40s and Verizon bills and mortgage payments roll on, I seem to have an ever more recurring 1950s housewife, fantasy. Fast forward to 2010. When husbands and wives not only co-work but try to co-homemake, as post-feminist and well-intentioned as it is, out goes the clear delineation of spheres, out goes the calm-of unquestioned authority, and of course out goes the gratitude. ② Aside from the irritation of never being able to reach the knife ( men tend to place items on shelves that are a foot higher than women can manage), ! have found co-homemaking inefficient. With21 st-century technology, it’s a straightforward matter to run a modern home. Sheep don’t need to be sheared; the wash is not done on a board by the creek; nothing needs canning, because we have Costco. Even someone who works 40 hours a week can keep a home standing, and food in the fridge, by himself. What can turn into a second shift is not just negotiating the splitting of this labor with another person, but the splitting of decision-making authority. Two co-workers in the home also have the opportunity to regularly evaluate each other’s handiwork, not always to a positive effect. In short, as the Tupperware totters lopsidedly about, in the domestic equation, the work I do at home is no longer a gift, but the labor of a mediocre colleague whose performance could be better. Still, a return to a life more like the 1950s, with one breadwinner and one homemaker, is an unreasonable expectation. It is particularly so since, as the breadwinner, I wish to be the husband, and hence what I’m looking for is a wife—a loyal helpmeet who keeps the home fires burning and offers uncritical emotional support when I, the gladiator, return exhausted from the arena. ~Who are the men without money who can adapt to such a role Which of the following might NOT be a characteristic of a 1950s husband-wife relationship
A．There was a clear division of work between husband and wife. B．The wife possibly demanded more rights in the family. C．In the family, the wife was humble and submissive. D．In the family, one appreciated the other’s work.