No, it's not funny and yes, it is sad that she felt it acceptable to put up with such disrespectful, irresponsible behaviour from a partner. But, if you look at the AIBU section and elsewhere here, there are plenty of women who either feel that behaving like an entitled child with too much pocket money is "natural" for a man and something you just have to "put up with" if you want to have a man in your life, have children, etc.
I sense though that the author of the article has written it as much to convince herself that the marriage and how he behaved in it was "okay," even laughable, because that seems a better way of coping with the situation than thinking, "you know, I've been treated like crap by my husband and it's been hurtful and unfair."
Yes, I do think men are conditioned to believe they have the "get out clause" of "just being a man," for everything from excessive drinking to violence, from not having much interest in their children to affairs. Likewise, women are conditioned to "thank heaven for small mercies," if they don't have a partner who's not a complete tool, or in this case, if they seem to get a bit better after a while.
Not all men of course respond to this conditioning, and sadly those that don't toe the line can be ostracised by those men who do, because they "let the side down." Likewise, I've previously had well meaning (?) female friends tell me I was being too picky in what I wanted from a prospective partner - often where they were in relationships where they seemed to be unhappy because their partners were irresponsible, disrespectful, inconsiderate, etc. Baloney.