I’ve read authors who say that the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is not actually referring to a wife, but to wisdom’s personification as a woman as seen earlier in Proverbs. I’ve read authors who refute that, and assert that it most certainly is speaking of the qualities that a woman should seek to develop. Now this:
Everything in Proverbs points to this final emphasis, on the man sitting in the gates who has chosen his wife (and his life) well. A man who follows the way of wisdom – God’s way – and lives a life honoring and well pleasing to the Lord.
Pastor Don Johnson, How ‘My Son’ Turned Out After All, at Proclaim & Defend. He’s done all the hard work for us. All I have to do is link to it, all you have to do is go read it — an interesting and thought-provoking article.
Mind Renewers 
Well, thanks for the plug. I thoroughly enjoyed my opportunity to teach Proverbs and, as always, was amazed at the blessed truth that unfolds right out of God’s word. One should get over that feeling of amazement, I suppose.
As to my theory in this post, I think the chiasm idea is possibly a bit tenuous, but I think that the focus of the poem is really the husband and not the wife in the overall context of Proverbs. The wife certainly gets lots of prime time in the passage, but there is a bigger point than simply teaching us what a good woman is like. And it does that too.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
What I thought was useful here, Don, was the tie-in to the rest of the book. The passage shouldn’t be seen in isolation. This is at least an attempt to fit it into the overall theme. Like I said, thought-provoking.