1.
Gidon Schneider asked:
if a woman tells her husband she does not want him to feed her and in return she will not give him her property - she is diminishing HIS Chazal given benefit - how can she do this?
Gidon Schneider, London, England
2.
The Kollel replies:
The benefit Chazal gave him to receive her earnings was meant as a reciprocation for requiring him to feed her. The main purpose, though, was to see to it that she would be fed. He is given her earnings only to ensure that he keeps his own part of the deal. Therefore, if she decides to forego being fed, Chazal no longer gave him her earnings. (See Kesuvos 58b)
M. Kornfeld