Analyse af 'They're not your husband'

Earl Ober is a husband and a father. Earl is married to his wife Doreen, who works and pays for the family, because Earl is currently unemployed and is trying to get a job. Earl is a man who cares about what other people think about him. He does not see any problem with his wife’s weight, until others point it out.When Earl visits his wife’s workplace and overhears a group of people say that his wife is too fat. ’’’That’s what i mean’’, the man said. ‘’But some people like fat women’’’ The men talking commented on the appearance of his wife, but up until that point Earl did not have any problem with his wife’s weight, but then he began to question himself. The two men’s comment seemed to spark a thought or an idea in Earl’s mind. After this Earl went home thinking about his wife being fat and it bothered him, he felt he was stigmatized by the people around him for having a fat wife so much so, that the following day he confronted his wife about the ordeal and made her realize that her weight was a problem for him. Earl and Doreen had a stable and good relationship, they had been married for a long time, with two kids. Their relationship was going downhill from the first moment Earl told his wife that she had to lose weight. You could say it almost single handedly created a big loss of interest in one another. Doreen seemed to be utterly shocked by her husband’s words, she had never before given one thought about her weight, or why it should bother her husband. But when he confronted her, she processed to go along with her husband’s ideas about losing weight. However, this did nothing good for anyone except Earl. Doreen's co-workers seemed concerned about her sudden weight loss.One of the themes in the story is the concept of minding one's own business, and not putting one’s nose into others business when it does not harm them. In this case Earl is unsatisfied with something about his wife. However, her weight in this case it is not a problem for her. However, the sudden weight shift in her losing weight, could even have been a bigger harm, in fact even her co-workers noticed the sudden change, and a sudden change in weight or anything, is never for the better, but mostly harmful.