For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 21, 2013

how did they survive during the war(WWII)?

Yeah, caring for the family is a full time job (and you don’t get to clock out and go home).Jon should be sharing the chores – including cleaning, cooking and shopping.

John nooo….never tell a woman to quit her job. Taking care of a house is definitely a full time job and if we want to work, then we can work. We’re not living in the 20s anymore, we have rights to work just as much as men. How about helping?

He who operates without a clue soon gets one.

Her problems are real, but talking to your husband that way too often will corrode any marriage.

why say that…?

Great Response, Elly!!! Way to go!!

I’m with Nab on this. All she does is whine and complain. If she quit her job and actually enjoyed her family she would be happy. I don’t have kids yet specifically because we can’t yet afford for me to stay home with them and I refuse to let daycare raise them!

SA-LAM!!!! LOL!

I wonder if that’s why Lynn is divorced in real life?

The Reason there was such a big push to get women out of the house & into the workforce was because the government wanted to increase the tax base to draw from. And now that they are there in close proximity to other men, the divorce rate has increased. People look at their coworkers & can’t resist!

This is part of why my brother is divorced. We grew up in the 60’s when most women still stayed home to raise their kids, and even when our mom went back to work she still did most of the housework with my help. So he got the idea that housework was women’s work and outside work like cutting the grass was men’s work. But by the time he got married most women were working outside the home. He and his wife worked at the same factory so they worked equal hours. But when they got home she had to do all the housework and cooking while he did as he pleased. She became understandably resentful. There were other reasons for their divorce but this was part of it.

Ooooooh, the “Elly look” says it all!

Farley your going to have company tonite

There are these things called history books. You should try them sometime.

Quit the job that doesn’t benefit the family.

Night-Gaunt49: Those who define “family” as what they grew up in should come to their census. The nuclear, (father, mother, 2.3 kids) was the majority only in the 1930 and 1940 years. Before that, it was as much three generation (like your example) as nuclear, and after WW-II, no arrangement has been in the majority. 1950 had the nuclear in a definite plurality, but fathers who didn’t come back from the war kept it from being a majority.

I recall feeling like a psycho sometimes when the kids were young. Some women thrive on housework, but me not so much, I’m sorry to say.

@howtheduck“The idea is that she does the work in order to make her happy, and yet she seems to be unhappier than ever.”

I think the idea is that she wants to work outside the home and not in it. Housework is unending and thankless. John has all the good part of having a family and none of the drudgery. Quitting the only job that gives her any fulfillment wouldn’t help Ellie. So of course she complains. Unfortunately she doesn’t suggest any solutions John could accept. You never see her just say to John “I’m sick and tired of doing housework, so I expect you to hire a maid service to come in and do the cleaning twice a week.” Obviously she couldn’t afford to pay the cleaners herself on her next-to-nothing paycheck, so John has to do it. But he never picks up on her “hints” to either help her out or hire someone to help.

There’s some truth in all the comments. The husband’s number on responsibility according to the Bible is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. That means up to an including giving his life for her. John hasn’t come close yet.

It’s normal for a woman to become resentful when both she and her husband work outside the home but she’s the only one working when she gets home while he gets to relax. I was in a very similar situation until other things happened causing me to separate. Now our relationship is strong and he cleans his house, not as well as I do, but it’s better than nothing.

Panel three is a classic: men are fixers. John’s fix is that she should quit her job. But Ellie don’t want a fixit answer. She wants someone to listen, to empathize. Actually, I think that’s true for many men, too. On the other hand, John is somewhat …and chronically…clueless.

WELL SAID ELLIE!!!

If Elly decides to “quit her job” with the family, she could not get up and run away. The law would hold her responsible for child support. She and John had the kids, the law holds them responsible for their care and upbringing.

Elly finally gets the answer right :)

Touche’ Elly! That’s telling him!