Jerk (p 146, Question 4)

While reading Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband," one of the aspects of the story that struck me the most was Edie's rather vicious tone. As "the hired girl," one would expect Edie to have had more of a sense of respectful detachment from the Peebles. Instead, she speaks with a tone of condescension, describing the Peebles as "not knowing any better" about farm life. Her self-righteousness is made even more evident by her disgusted description of Loretta Bird as "swollen up with pleasure at being in on this scene" of Edie's humiliation. Edie even goes on to state that she "could have slapped her." Edie truly is anything but sympathetic, and her status as "the hired girl" simply exacerbates this already unfavorable portrayal of her. As she states repeatedly, Edie does not really fit in among the Peebles or among Loretta. Her unsympathetic, condescending attitude simply reinforces the perception that Edie seems disgusted with those around her.