Alice Monroe's How I Met My Husband

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Are all young women the same? Alice Monroe gives her readers an insight to the life of a young woman in her 1974 short story “How I Met My Husband.” Monroe uses fiction to tell the story of a young woman named Edie who is facing the difficulties of an unexpected romance. Throughout the story, Edie’s character becomes more developed. The experiences that Edie has in the story lead her readers to view her as an innocent, eager, and critical young woman. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, innocent is defined as lacking experience with the world and the bad things that happen in life. The reader knows that Edie “was fifteen and away from home for the first time” (par. 23). Being this young, Edie was not old enough to have faced the …show more content…

Edie is critical throughout many parts of the story. When Alice Kelling comes to town, Edie is fast to show disapproval. She is especially disapproving of her looks saying “her bust looked to me rather low and bumpy” (208 par. 14). Alice is Chris’s fiancé and even if Edie does not admit it, she has feeling towards Chris. Edie may have some jealousy towards Alice and may be insulting her because of it. Regardless of the reason, Edie is showing how critical she is. That is not the only time Edie is critical of Alice’s looks. Edie also says there is “nothing in the least pretty or even young-looking about her” (208 par. 14). This is another time when Edie is disapproving about Alice’s looks. Edie finds it necessary to be critical of Alice because she feels like Alice is getting in the way of her and Chris’s romance. Although Edie just met Chris, she feels a connection towards him. One evening, Edie stays up and watches Chris come home with Alice. After seeing them walk of separately without saying a word, Edie “got back in bed and imagined about me coming home with him, not like that” (210 par. 1). This is when the reader sees how Edie truly feels about Chris. Edie does not outwardly express her love for Chris, but she does have many internal thoughts that show her love for him. Her internal love for Chris is one reason for her criticism towards Alice. Edie is very critical in the story, especially towards

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