‘How I Met My Husband’ is a short story that was written by Alice Munro and published in 1974 as a part of her collection ‘Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You’. The main character is Edie, a fifteen-year-old girl who lives and works at the Dr. Peebles family farm. The plot is based on her interactions with Chris Watters, a qualified pilot who is engaged with another woman. Edie falls in love with Chris, but he decides to leave and promise to send her letters. She waits for these letters for a long time, but then decides to date with a mail courier and later marries him. Despite many complicated situations that Edie faces, Munro pictures her as a symbol of a feminine and matriarchal agenda that is strong and can survive despite many challenging circumstances.
Edie’s character has many significant reflections on Munro’s life. First, Alice Munro was born in 1931 in a Canadian farm family, and later as Edie dropped out of school. Thus, it is important to evaluate the cultural and historical background of Canada in relation to the feminist agenda. Canadian society is influenced by a mixture of French and British cultures. Therefore, as in many Western countries, for a long time, the role of women in the country was neglected. In the time of Munro’s adulthood, Canadian women had no right to vote, were excluded from Civil Code, and were recognized by men as home keepers. Thus, the feminism movement that occurred in Canada in the early 20th century highlights women’s intentions of having equal rights and social recognition. The final Edie’s decision of building new relationships with mail courier instead of waiting for Chris tells that she chooses what is best for her and not for other people. She says:
There were women doing this with their lives, all over. There were women just waiting and waiting by mailboxes for one letter or another. I imagined me making this journey day after day and year after year, and my hair starting to go gray, and I thought, I was never made to go on like this. (Munro 146)
This passage shows a struggle between rebellion and respectability, a fight for personal and social appreciation that the feminine movement wants to achieve. Another significant passage relates to Edie’s opinion on work and life with the Peebles who is a very conservative family. Probably, these words show Munro’s opinion on the patriarchal society at that time:
They like to think you aren’t curious. Not just that you aren’t dishonest, that isn’t enough. They like to feel you don’t notice things, that you don’t think or wonder about anything but what they liked to eat and how they like things ironed, and so on. (Munro 135)
The author delineates Edie as a round character by revealing her personality, background, motives, and personal features. Edie is the central character and the narrator of the whole story. While reading the story, a reader understands how Edie goes through the process of finding herself. The fact that she is young and away from home makes her vulnerable to external influences. She has a childish naivety, charm, and, even though she drops out of school, she demonstrates a deep understanding of many life concepts. For instance, Edie states about her future husband, ‘and naturally, I laugh and let him, because I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy’ (Munro 146). Throughout the novel, Edie becomes an adult and transforms her feelings from a simple heartbreak to a marriage full of love and happiness. The author romantically hints to the reader that love can be around, right in front of a person, and all he or she needs to do is to avoid bad feelings. However, ‘after the story lures us as readers into accepting the ideals of romantic fiction, the ending encourages us to question those ideals’ (Sutton par. 2).
Finally, the main character of the story ‘How are met my husband’ by Alice Munro depicts a symbol of feminine and matriarchal agenda. As stated above, Munro presents Edie as a symbol of the feministic movement at that time. Edie has her personal character and makes the decision of what is right for her based on circumstances that happen in the book. Firstly, the story reveals a struggle for Edie when she tries to find herself despite many external influences, such as the Peebles, who is a very conservative patriarchal family. Secondly, the final Edie’s choice allows the reader to see feminine courage and desire to do something and not to wait all her life. Edie’s choice can also be explained by the fact that the mail courier respects her as she is and does not demand her to change. Lastly, Edie’s ability to overcome all obstacles while being naive and charming allows the reader to construct a new vision of society that will be based on equal male and female rights and opportunities.
Works Cited
Munro, Alice. How I Met My Husband. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974. Print.
Sutton, Brian. Comfortably Ever After: Romance And Reality In Munro’s ‘How I Met My Husband’. 2010. Web.