Meaning of Lists in “How to be an other women”

In the short story “How to Be an Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore we follow the affair between Charlene and a mysterious man she meets on the bus. As the affair continues we get a deep look into the mind of Charlene from a second person perspective. Charlene spends more time with the man she begins to change her personality. One clear example of this is when the man mentions that his wife Patricia is a very organized person and makes lists. “She makes lists for everything. It’s pretty impressive.” After finding this out Charlene begins to makes lists for herself that document her life and give the reader a closer look at her thought process and mind.

These lists have a variety of topics, from the contents of the man’s medicine cabinet all the way to how she feels about the affair and her deeply personal thoughts. I believe that Lorrie Moore included these lists to give the reader a look into the mind of Charlene and compare her actions to what she really believes.

After the man brings Charlene to his “castle”, she asks to use the restroom and makes a mental list of all thing in the man’s wife medicine cabinet.

“Midol
Dental floss
Tylenol
Merthiolate
package of eight emery boards
(...)
three small bars of cashmere bouquet stolen from a hotel”

Charlene then uses this list to create a larger profile for Patrician, almost getting close to her. We see that Charlene uses the lists she creates to help organizer her mind and paint a clearer picture of what is surrounding her. Charlene continues to use lists throughout the story. Not only does the list help organize Charlene’s mind but they also allow the reader to understand how she views herself.

    In particular at the ending of “How to Be an Other Woman,” we see Charlene compile her last list as she leaves the man after finding out about his “real” wife. The final list reveals to the reader what Charlene intends to do in the future and how the affair has changed her. The affair had become part of Charlene’s story and as a result, she now answers the man’s call with “fine.”
Let me know what you think!

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