Modern English edition · 1622 AD
Domestic Duties: For Wives
Gouge's practical guidance for wives from his comprehensive work on family life. Based on Ephesians 5-6, he addresses the wife's role, attitudes, and responsibilities in marriage.
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About this book
Domestic Duties: For Wives is drawn from William Gouge's comprehensive treatise on household governance, "Of Domestical Duties." Based on his exposition of Ephesians 5-6, this section addresses wives specifically, offering guidance on their calling, attitudes, and practical responsibilities within marriage.
Gouge grounds his teaching in the biblical text. Paul's instructions to wives—submission to husbands, reverence, and support—receive careful exposition. Gouge explains what these terms meant in their original context and how they apply practically. He distinguishes biblical teaching from cultural distortions.
The nature of wifely submission receives nuanced treatment. Gouge rejects both servile subjection and modern egalitarianism, seeking the biblical balance. Submission is not inferiority but proper ordering. The wife is her husband's helper, not his slave. Her submission is rendered to the Lord, not merely to a man.
Practical application fills the work. Gouge addresses how wives should speak to and about their husbands, how they should handle disagreements, how they should manage household responsibilities, and how they should support their husbands in spiritual matters. The guidance is specific and realistic.
Gouge also addresses difficulties. What if a husband fails in his duties? What if he is unreasonable or sinful? Gouge counsels patience, prayer, and wise influence while maintaining that a wife's duties remain even when a husband fails in his. Yet he also limits wifely submission—it does not extend to participating in sin.
For modern readers, Gouge offers a window into Puritan marriage ideals. While cultural context has changed dramatically, his attempt to work out biblical principles practically repays study. His balance of duty with dignity, submission with significance, challenges both those who would minimize wifely calling and those who would distort it.
About the author
William Gouge
William Gouge (1575-1653) was an English Puritan clergyman and author who served as minister of Blackfriars, London, for forty-five years. Educated at Cambridge, he became one of the most respected Puritan preachers of his generation. He participated in the Westminster Assembly, contributing to its theological work. His major work, "Of Domestical Duties," first published in 1622 and expanded in later editions, became the standard Puritan treatment of family life. Based on years of preaching through Ephesians 5-6, it addresses the duties of husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, and servants. Gouge was known for his learning, his practical wisdom, and his pastoral care. His domestic theology influenced English and American family life for generations.
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