"The Other Woman" may resonate markedly in the minds of some sensitive readers because it represents many different forms of expression in conveying the physical and mental experiences of the bridegroomturned-husband. To begin, it is an interesting and curious example of the reverse tall tale. In the conventional tall tale pattern, the native speaker or narrator, an insider, offers a curious, far-fetched account of a very unusual creature, situation, or condition, to a credulous stranger, an outsider. In Anderson's story the insider seems to be the naif who cannot understand what he himself is talking about. He seems quite confused as we get his account, he contradicts himself, and at one point he is quoted as saying, "I am afraid I muddle this matter in trying to tell it." His audience (the outsider to whom he told his story, and who records his story) seems shrewd enough to...