Final answer:
In 'A Modest Proposal,' Swift satirically suggests that his proposal would improve marital relations among the poor by ensuring financial benefits for their offspring, which would lead to better treatment of wives by their husbands. This proposal is intended to critique society's treatment of the impoverished through grim satire.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Jonathan Swift's satirical work, A Modest Proposal, he suggests that improving marital relations among the poor could be achieved through his outrageous suggestion of selling their infants as food for the wealthy. According to Swift, this would lead to improved care and tenderness from mothers towards their children, knowing that their offspring would secure a financial benefit instead of being a burden.
Additionally, Swift claims it would increase the affection of husbands during their wives' pregnancy, comparable to the care they show for their animals when they are expecting offspring, which is a darkly ironic assertion considering the proposal's true intent to criticize the dehumanization and neglect of the impoverished in society.
The satirical nature of Swift's proposal is emphasized in his outlandish claims, such as the idea that men would stop mistreating pregnant wives out of financial interest in the wellbeing of their potential 'product.' It is a morbid exaggeration aimed at highlighting the extreme disregard for the poor and the logical extreme of commoditizing human life for economic gain.