DeVault

In “Conflict and Deference,” Devault gives her opinions on the roles of men and women in completing household chores. She bases her opinions on first hand observations and gives many examples of interviews that she conducts with several couples.

Essentially, Devault points out various problems that couples experience in dealing with household chores such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping etc (most of these problems, curiously, are the man’s fault…). One such problem she points out is the problem of sharing. Men and women often have trouble deciding who gets what chore. One example of a specific problem here is that a woman likes to garden and considers this one of her chores, but her husband says it doesn’t count because it is her hobby not a chore. Devault says communication is the key to preventing/resolving this problem.

Devault also speaks of the problems of power in a marriage. She claims that men are demanding and that women strive to please their husbands, and in extreme cases this may lead to violence and abuse in the home. Even in non-violent circumstances however, Devault believes that women who cook will often go to extra lengths to make their husbands happy.

Devault explores various other aspects of the relationship between couples and chores. She believes that women often feel restricted because they are expected to do certain things around the house, but they feel it is their duty as women to take care of their family or they risk being considered a bad mother/wife.

Devault’s feminist approach on the subject of household chores is somewhat narrow-minded and she often twists the words of her subjects to mean what she wants them to. These facts aside however, she presents an interesting analysis of the role of the sexes in household chores.