How I Met My Husband

"How I Met My Husband" by Alice Munro

"He always tells the children the story of how I went after him by sitting by the mailbox every day, and naturally I laugh and let him, because I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy" (Munro, 146).

The narrator, Edie, recounts the story of how she met her husband. At the end of the short story, I found myself being confused on the entire purpose of the story. Nearly the entire story revolves around Edie's dealings with Chris and Mrs. Peebles. In the end, she marries the mailman. Although the story seems to be a waste, the purpose of the story seems to reflect around the journey to find love. The use of characterization seems to also coincide with this particular theme. Edie is characterized to be naive and innocent in the beginning of the story. Isn't everyone naive and innocent when they haven't experienced love. Edie was just at the beginning of her search for love so naturally she was naive when the other was knowing of the situation, Chris. The older and wiser Edie seems to remark on her naive acts but most people reflect that their past self made poor decisions when it comes to relationships. Without being naive in the beginning, mistakes could not be made to lead to the future. Edie recognizes the importance as she is later characterized to be wiser and understanding of herself in the situations she was in.