贤妻良母”与 ANGEL IN THE HOUSE

The Comparison between ‘the angle in the house’ and the ‘贤妻良母’
Ostensibly, “the angle in the house” seems to be synonymous with the Chinese phrase 贤妻良母. They are both obedient and willing to sacrifice for the family. But when we look closer, we may find that there are several marked differences between them.
The first and the essential difference between them is that the angle in the house never has a mind or wish of her own while a 贤妻良母must have it. From the literal meaning we can see that a 贤妻良母means a good assistant to husband and a good mother to child, which indicating that she needs to give appropriate advice to husband on certain matters, helping to deal with things in proper ways, and educate child to be a good man. All of these require her to have a sense of right and wrong and make judgment on her own.
Anotherdifference between them is their contribution in a family. For angle in the house, she just needs to be meek, mild and resigned. There is no burden on her shoulder, there is no pressure for her to bear. She just needs to accept whatever comes to her. However, for a 贤妻良母, she must be the prop of a family, helping her husband to earn their bread, managing everything in the family no matter big or small and share all the happiness and bitterness.
One more difference we can find in them is that their characters are different. The ‘angle in the house’ is a sympathetic lady, she flatters, deceives and uses all the arts and wiles of woman. On the contrary, a 贤妻良母must have strength in her character. With so many burdens to bear, she must be tough and strong. Also she has to be honest and brave. When her husband or child makes a mistake, she must point it out even at the risk of contradicting her husband’s mind. She can be an obedient wife, but if needed, she can also be a strong man.。