Aristocratic principles had noted, even liked, exceptions at start of the 20th Century, e.g.: “commoners were second-class human beings yet certain middle-class officers became personal adjutants to the Kaiser;…Jews could claim no higher distinctions yet certain Jews were knighted and became friends with archdukes;…women had to observe traditional morality yet certain women could philander like a calvary officer. (Those were principles that would be labeled ‘hypocritical’ today because we are so much more relentless: relentless, honest, and humorless.”
So, why do we accept this approach from women? Why is it considered appropriate for a woman to order her husband around, but not the reverse? Why is it normal in our culture for a woman to assign a list of chores to her husband (the “Honey Do List,” we call it), yet we would think a man tyrannical and possibly abusive if he gave his wife her own list of mandatory assignments for the day? "Headed to work, honey. Your chore list is on the fridge." Why do we think nothing of women who sit around complaining to each other about their husbands, even when those very same women would be devastated if their husbands did the same? Why is it acceptable for a woman to kick a man out of his own bed and banish him to the living room like a scolded puppy, while it would be seen as entirely unacceptable for a man to pull the same stunt with his wife? Imagine a wife saying to her girlfriends, “I’m really in the doghouse, girls. My husband made me sleep on the couch last night.” Her friends would probably tell her to call the police and file for divorce.
A man in this situation is called nonetheless to endure, to fight for his family, and never to be unfaithful to his wife or leave her. But if he does wander, it should be noted that he is not the only traitor in the marriage. She betrayed him. She promised him a wife and instead gave him a stepmother. The two have now betrayed each other, each in their own way. There are two sides to every story, as they say. I think this is the side that is not often told.