A Comparison of “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore and “the Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz
A Comparison of “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore and “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz
Angel Walsh Stories of infidelity and heartbreak, both “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore and “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz are stories of a cheater and a home wrecker, told in a different light than society typically casts upon them. Diaz’s “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” and Moore’s “How to Be an Other Woman” share the same basic subject matter, but differ heavily in their respective points of view. Themes of adultery unifying and defining both pieces, both Diaz’s and Moore’s short stories give insight to the world of unfaithfulness, during and after the affair runs its course. Diaz relays the story of a man living in regret of a series of sexual conquests that proved to be the demise of his highly cherished six-year relationship. Taken for granted when he had her, the narrator spends the years following his breakup recovering from the loss of his beloved fiancée in his life. Moore’s piece shows a different side of an unfaithful relationship, with her protagonist being the mistress. Her character cares less about the concept of cheating than Diaz’s character comes to. She also functions very differently in the face of her relationship deprecating, where unlike Diaz’s character who unsuccessful in his similar attempts, she draws herself back from feeling too much, or at least showing it. Both Diaz’s and Moore’s stories are written from a second person point of view, though they do so from different perspectives: one from the standpoint of the cheater and the other from the outlook of the mistress. While both parties are participating in the destruction of a relationship, they are doing it in opposing positions, Diaz telling of a man who ruined his relationship from the inside, bringing other sucias or mistresses in only to end up pushing away the only woman who truly mattered to him and suffering for years trying to come to terms
Angel Walsh Stories of infidelity and heartbreak, both “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore and “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz are stories of a cheater and a home wrecker, told in a different light than society typically casts upon them. Diaz’s “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” and Moore’s “How to Be an Other Woman” share the same basic subject matter, but differ heavily in their respective points of view. Themes of adultery unifying and defining both pieces, both Diaz’s and Moore’s short stories give insight to the world of unfaithfulness, during and after the affair runs its course. Diaz relays the story of a man living in regret of a series of sexual conquests that proved to be the demise of his highly cherished six-year relationship. Taken for granted when he had her, the narrator spends the years following his breakup recovering from the loss of his beloved fiancée in his life. Moore’s piece shows a different side of an unfaithful relationship, with her protagonist being the mistress. Her character cares less about the concept of cheating than Diaz’s character comes to. She also functions very differently in the face of her relationship deprecating, where unlike Diaz’s character who unsuccessful in his similar attempts, she draws herself back from feeling too much, or at least showing it. Both Diaz’s and Moore’s stories are written from a second person point of view, though they do so from different perspectives: one from the standpoint of the cheater and the other from the outlook of the mistress. While both parties are participating in the destruction of a relationship, they are doing it in opposing positions, Diaz telling of a man who ruined his relationship from the inside, bringing other sucias or mistresses in only to end up pushing away the only woman who truly mattered to him and suffering for years trying to come to terms