now when

deciding what to make this fourth blog about, my OCD wouldn't really let me arbitrarily pick one to do two over, so I decided to look for common ground.

the one thing I found? subtle, dry-ish, humor. ohyes. I have a knack for finding this sort of thing.

first: in "How I Met My Husband", we see this shy, subservient housemaid be courted by this dashing pilot who HAPPENS to be flying his plane and landing in the field behind her house. (is that what the kids call it these days? [toofar?]}. the two of them create this picture-perfect covert relationship, complete with hiding from a wife and unnecessary drama. of course, he PROMISES to write, so like a good girl, she waits for the mail at the mailbox and meets her real husband. the cynic in me loves this. I love that the perfection is ruined in such a pleasant way. also, if she told her husband the truth, it'd cause problems. which is also the case in...

"Interpreter of Maladies" (ooooh, did you see that nice segue?!). first for the humor. Mr. Kapasi's ability to interpret is misinterpreted. oh the irony! Clearly, Mrs. Das must know that translating and problem solving are two completely different beasts, but she shares her deep dark secrets anyway. again, a truth that would potentially ruin her marriage if she told her husband.

"A Rose for Emily" is a little different... there is no husband with whom a marriage can be ruined, per se. but telling the truth about the secret lying (literally) in the house of Miss Emily would definitely cause devastation in the community. which is probably why she keeps it on the DL. also, I wish it were that easy to get out of paying taxes... just sayin'.

"I like for people to think what pleases them and makes them happy."

fin.

I personally LOVE the ending of "How I Met My Husband". I find the whole "let's spend five pages talking about this guy that isn't actually her husband" idea quite cool. one of the reflection questions was something about whether or not the end was predictable. I personally sorta saw it coming. I mean, no well-written story ends so perfectly. I KNEW there had to be some twist. now, I didn't expect for the conclusion to happen and be done with quite so quickly... but it made me laugh. for me it was sorta like this: "oh hey, this guy is perfect! he's cute, charming, funny, going places with his life, interested in me, married, he kisses me, promises to write, leaves suddenly on his plane..., andthenImeettheguyI'llactuallymarry. THE END!"

I think that building up all of this backstory that doesn't really matter really sets the stage for some other guy to come in and steal the story. and, even though it's kind of sad, the last line of the story is perfect, just because throughout the story Edie's passive and doesn't want to be the source of conflict, and the same is precisely true at the end.