Showing a man on the stage, Rita says, "He is the brother of the daughter of the wife of my husband." In this verbal reasoning blood relation question, how is the man on the stage related to Rita?

Introduction / Context:
This classic blood relation question involves Rita, her husband, the wife of her husband and the daughter of that wife. It then refers to the brother of that daughter and asks how this man on the stage is related to Rita. The question is designed to test recognition that the wife of my husband is simply me and to identify the relationship correctly after that simplification.

Given Data / Assumptions:
• Rita is married, so she has a husband.• The phrase the wife of my husband refers to Rita herself.• The daughter of the wife of Rita's husband is the daughter of Rita.• The man on the stage is described as the brother of this daughter.• Normal family structure holds.

Concept / Approach:
The key simplification is to recognise that the wife of my husband is just another way of saying I, because Rita is the only wife of her husband. Therefore, the daughter of the wife of my husband is Rita's daughter. The man is the brother of that daughter, so he is another child of Rita, specifically her son. From Rita's perspective, the man is therefore her son. The puzzle is testing whether we correctly interpret the slightly roundabout phrase for herself.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Interpret the phrase my husband. This clearly refers to Rita's husband.Step 2: The wife of my husband must be Rita herself, because she is the person speaking.Step 3: The daughter of the wife of my husband is the daughter of Rita.Step 4: Thus, the daughter in the description is Rita's daughter.Step 5: The man on the stage is the brother of this daughter.Step 6: If he is the brother of Rita's daughter, he must be another child of Rita.Step 7: Since he is male, he is the son of Rita.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider Rita and her husband with two children, a girl and a boy. The girl is the daughter of the wife of Rita's husband, and the boy is the brother of that daughter. When Rita points to the boy and describes him as the brother of the daughter of the wife of my husband, she is indirectly saying he is her own son. Any attempt to interpret the wife of my husband as someone else would contradict the normal monogamous assumption in these questions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Husband of Rita: The husband of Rita is the same person as my husband in her statement, not the brother of her daughter.Cousin of Rita: A cousin would be in the same generation and not directly connected through her daughter in this way.Nephew of Rita: A nephew would be child of her sibling, not sibling of her daughter.Brother in law of Rita: A brother in law would be brother of her husband or spouse of her sister, which is not supported here.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates get confused by the phrase wife of my husband and forget that it simply refers to the speaker in such puzzles. Once that is recognised, the rest of the problem is easy because the daughter is clearly the speaker's daughter and the man is a sibling of that daughter. Keeping track of which person is speaking and simplifying such phrases early is a useful strategy in similar questions.

Final Answer:
The man on the stage is the son of Rita.