Analyse af 'They're Not Your Husband' af Raymond Carver

This analysis will be based on the short story “They’re Not Your Husband” from the author Raymond Carver, published in 1976.

The point of this short story seems to be to show how we as human beings, so easily are affected by how our peers see, talk and looks at us. Furthermore how this might cause one to feel compelled to act and change things about our loved ones, and ourselves regardless of how drastic the consequences could turn out to be in the long run. Themes such as insecurities and control are also found between the lines of the story.

The short story is set around the main character Earl, and his wife Doreen. They seem to be an average middle/lower middle class American family, due to the fact that Doreen works as a waitress at a local diner. The setting of the story seemingly takes place somewhere in a common American suburb. As a reader, we get a vibe that the economic situation of the family perhaps is very tight, for the moment anyway. As showed in the following quote “But they decided they didn’t have the money to buy enough steaks.” Because of that, the couple figured that the cheapest and far most efficient way for Doreen to lose weight, would be a complete starvation diet, regardless of the Doreen’s wellbeing.