Alice Munro's short story "The Love of a Good Woman," is a third person narrative that tells the story of Mr. Willens's mysterious death. One spring day in 1951, three young boys discover the local optometrist's car and body sunken in the river behind their town. The boys' chaotic home lives, however, make them wary of revealing their discovery. Though the man's death eventually appears in the papers, the exact circumstances of it are never resolved. Not long later, while local nurse, Enid, is caring for a dying woman, she acquires information about Mr. Willens that threatens to undo her. The short story explores themes including entrapment, secrecy, and goodness.
Five books published in fourteen years have firmly established Alice Munro among Canada's best writers of prose fiction. Her form is the short story, and her material is largely the experience of a gi...
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Alice Munro