Wife Smarter Than Husband?

Is it safe for a wife to be smarter than her husband?

Of course! Men who cannot afford social ornaments sometimes want inferior wives. Why? Often because they harbor a great sense of inferiority. Therefore at all economic levels there are some men who want apparently weak and docile women whom they can dominate completely, who will not put up any arguments, and who will do as they are told without any "ifs," "ands," or "buts." Likewise there are women who either want to be dominated, or who are so eager to marry that they will do so under such circumstances.

What about the "ordinary man" who has no serious feelings of inadequacy, and who cannot afford, and does not desire a social ornament? Does he demand that his wife not have too many brains?

Certainly he wants her to be intelligent enough to do her job well. He does not want to feel ashamed of her because of her stupidity. Actually, too, the marriage will turn out more successfully if the wife is smart enough to be interesting, and to help develop satisfying personal relationships.

Still, the man usually does not want to feel inferior to his wife. But feeling inferior is not the same as being inferior. Some men have a quiet pride in a wife who is smarter, provided that she is smart enough not to make him appear and feel inferior, especially in front of his friends.

Some men, like some women, want others to run things for them. This desire may result from an unwillingness to assume responsibilities. It may come from a deep-seated desire to be dominated. Whatever its basis, there are men who want to be dominated by their wives. In such cases, both of them should know it in advance.

The problem is not limited to what men in general, or this man in particular, may want. There is also social demand. The boy and the girl who plan marriage should have a clear understanding of what the entire situation actually is, including its contradictions which they must somehow resolve.

Our culture expects the husband to be intellectually superior to his wife. Yet actually, he is not and in many cases cannot be. By the law of chances, there will be almost as many wives who are superior to their husbands, as husbands who are superior to their wives. So what to do?

In real life the situation does not work out too badly. Vocationally, the wife usually becomes side-tracked while she is bearing and rearing the children. With a twenty-year advantage, even a relatively inferior husband can usually manage to keep ahead. And as a result of the differences in what society expects, the wife usually runs with the throttle only partly open.

While the husband is advancing himself vocationally, or rising in his company, the wife busies herself getting up church suppers and organizing flower shows which consume her time and energy, but do not show up in either the pay check or her vocational standing.

Yet such advantages are not always enough to keep the husband ahead. If the difference in ability is marked, it speedily becomes known.

Such a situation may be concealed by a polite little conspiracy to maintain the fiction of male superiority, but everyone knows to whom to go, to get things done. In our day this fiction is becoming more difficult to maintain.

More and more wives are going back to work as soon as their children are old enough to be left by themselves, and are getting real money and recognition.

In some instances, the wife will outstrip her husband. The problem often becomes a real issue at the time when her income exceeds his.

My feeling is that the soundest marriages are those in which husband and wife are on about the same level of intelligence. We may think that the problem will be serious, only if the girl is markedly superior, but this is by no means necessarily true. The girl who marries a man who is intellectually far superior may face problems quite as serious. She will be safer if she chooses a man more nearly on her own level, so that through the years the relationship can most easily be maintained.

There is just as much chance that the wife will be superior to the husband, as the other way around. All who marry should face this fact. Actually there is no more justification for a man feeling embarrassed because his wife is superior, than there is for a wife to feel embarrassed because her husband excels her.

In any case, character and personality are far more important, provided each of the couple is intelligent enough to do a good job.

This article was written by Jonathan Tan of Christian Dating Tips and may be reproduced on any christian or dating website provided this copyright statement is displayed unedited in its entirety at the foot of the article and you use the exact same HTML code to ensure a clickable link back to the author's site.

Prop 8: Gay-Marriage Ruling Expected Today TIME VIDEO: A Gay-Marriage Wedding Video The 9th Circuit does not typically give notice of its forthcoming rulings, and its decision to do so Monday reflects the intense interest in the case. Even if the panel upholds the lower court ruling, ... and more »

rachel-greenwald-critics Westword Her only definition of success (aside from her own hefty financial take, apparently) is a marriage, wedding and honeymoon, and she admits even that success is rare. If there is so little enduring happiness or success in her business or the matches she ...

Scotland's opposition parties back same-sex 'marriage' Lifesite At the signing event, which included cutting an “equal marriage” wedding cake, Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson said, “I support the Equality Network's Equal Marriage campaign. … The Scottish Government will bring forward legislation on gay ... and more »

SheKnows.com

JCPenney to boycott group: We're sticking with Ellen SheKnows.com The group wants supporters to stop shopping at the store for featuring a same-sex marriage wedding cake decoration in a catalog ad." "In the hopes of making sales, your company has instead offended many customers in the process. and more »

The Christian Institute

Scots opposition leaders sign pledge to redefine marriage The Christian Institute They also cut an “equal marriage” wedding cake – a symbolic gesture which was designed to show their support for rewriting the definition of marriage. The Scottish Government's consultation on redefining marriage closed in December after receiving tens ... and more »

PerezHilton.com

J.Lo Isn't Thinking About Marrying New BF Casper Just Yet!! PerezHilton.com Tags: bride, casper smart, divorce, hearts and fuzzies, jennifer lopez, jlo, love, marc anthony, marriage, wedding So we've heard what Paula Abdul had to say about getting fired, and we heard what Nicole Scherzinger had to say about the ax.

Business Insider

3 Tax Tips Every Newlywed Couple Should Know Business Insider If you have very high medical expenses and a low adjusted gross income, filing separately means you could deduct more of these expenses. However, if you filed jointly, you may not benefit from this deduction. newlywed - marriage - wedding.

Business Insider

NEWLYWEDS: Renting Could Be The Smartest Move For Your Future Finances Business Insider ... is that it can be as temporary or long-term as you like, especially as your family grows. "There are just some things you don't think about when you're a newlywed with stars in your eyes,'" Bohutinsky said. newlywed - marriage - wedding - couple.

ABC2 News

WA Senate approves bill to legalize same-sex marriage ABC2 News If opponents aren't able to collect enough signatures, same-sex couples would be able to be wed starting in June. Otherwise, they would have to wait until the results of a November election. Marriage Wedding Married hub generic 640x480_20100616142339_JPG. and more »