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The Doctor's Wife

There are three Jewish professions: Rabbi, Cantor and Doctor's wife. A job description is essential to explain her role.
With her head held high and her nose turned to the sky she has achieved the ultimate. She is a part of the very elite in society, in fact she is society! She no longer has to mingle with the commoners. She is the Doctor's Wife! She is most accomplished. She knows the finest restaurants in town, is a member of the country club, is able to call the best known interior decorator and knows Lamoge from Dresdners. She has several charge accounts with the most exclusive dress shops and is known by her voice when ordering a floral arrangement for the dinner party which she is hosting. When she enters a restaurant with "The Doctor" the waiters are most gracious. When she does not like the way the vegetables are arranged on her plate she need only point and and a more palatable assortment of greens appear almost instantly. She is known to reduce the lowly waiters to babbling creatures and lets them know in no uncertain terms where their meager tip comes from. When she asks for a wedge of lemon she expects it to arrive immediately served with a lucite covered tongue to keep it from drooping.
In social situations she readily responds for her husband and is able to answer the causes and cures of health problems readily without ever having attended medical school or even seen the inside of one. She does this with aplomb and absolute certainty, being sure she has convinced her listeners of her abilities. She does not hesitate to suggest what medications should be taken and under what circumstances. She knows the symptoms of every disease and offers her knowledge without hesitation to anyone who happens to be seated in her vicinity. She frequently interrupts "The Doctor" to remind all listeners that she is the power behind his career. Had it not been for her he could not possibly have accomplished his profession, albeit he graduated from medical school several years before he met her. 
She belongs to the Yacht Club and rubs elbows with the richest and the finest. She sips her drink from a heavy crystal goblet which she holds firmly, with her pinky finger extended giving her an air of aristocracy. She orders her husband's food lest he eat in an unhealthy fashion, not becoming "The Doctor."
Her children attend the finest schools since they are virtual geniuses and will surely attain the highest standards ever achieved in the history of this country. She herself has taken a number of classes in her youth and is familiar and enlightened about the newest plays on Broadway and the ratings ascribed to them. She sits on a number of important Boards where she lends her expertise on all subjects. She owns two mink coats and a sable and knows where every strand of fur originated and which craftsman assembled it.
Her home is decorated with the most tasteful furniture, early Castonian, with "almost origninal Brueghel and Rembrandts" adorning the walls. She is the best homemaker in town, having an excellent maid who takes direction from the "missus" and knows just what is needed. In sum there is nothing that the Doctor's wife can't do. She is an indispensable asset to the Doctor and without her surely he could not function!

by Ursula A. Falk 

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