Munro opens her stories with a note of intrigue—typically a subtle mystery that isn’t solved until later in the story. She piques the reader with curiosity, and once the story develops, she lets the secrets unravel in an unusual, surprising twist.
Aliens and Love
In "Spaceships Have Landed", Munro opens with an important scene (Wayne kisses Rhea), which occurs on the same night as the monumental vision of the story (the alien abduction). Eunie’s supposed encounter with the aliens, which happens on this night, appeals to Billy; so he later marries her instead of Rhea.
Meanwhile, Rhea has a different kind of alien experience with Wayne; they get drunk and decide to elope and run away together. This night thus marks a character transformation and a relationship change for four of the characters (five, including Lucille, who disappears without Wayne). It’s a complex and unusual situation. Munro starts right in the center of change, and we’re drawn to see exactly how it all fits together—the parallels, the separation, the alien experiences.
A Broken Love Triangle
"Vandals" begins with a letter:
"Liza, my dear, I have never written you yet to thank you for going out to our house...in the teeth or anyway the aftermath of the storm last February and for letting me know what you found there"(261).
This situation becomes increasingly odd as the story progresses: Liza vandalized the house because she was abused by Ladner, Bea’s husband. Both women’s perspective on Ladner become clear later on: Bea grows to love Ladner, though he never quite returns that love. Liza, seduced by him is confused by the way he alienates Bea. The story begins in the “teeth” of the storm, all the mysterious ties yet to be revealed.
A Man Wants to Marry Dorrie
The story "A Real Life" opens with a prospect that is meant to strike us as surprising idea: “A man came along and fell in love with Dorrie Beck. At least, he wanted to marry her. It was true.” The sense of novelty comes in the phrase, “It was true.” Munro moves immediately to Millicent, whose impressions and ideas about Dorrie narrate the story. As the plot progresses through Millicent’s eyes, we realize that she doesn’t understand Dorrie at all. Millicent is obsessed by the idea that a man wants to marry Dorrie, which she claims is the best possible occurrence.
Dorrie hesitates in regards to the wedding, and Millicent is frustrated by this: “most mysterious and maddening person” (77). She pushes Dorrie to marry the man, the appropriate thing to do, and believes she’s conquered her. The whole story is about how this man wants to marry Dorrie, which is a great social surprise. Dorrie’s personality, meanwhile, is smothered underneath the prospect; we have a hunch about these complex ties in that opening sentence.
Twist in the Titles
Notably, the twists that appear in Munro’s openings also exist in the titles. "A Real Life" could be Dorrie’s life before she’s married, a real life being one that is connected to the land, or after she’s married—as life is only “real” for a woman with a husband. Another example is "Carried Away", which applies to the idea of a man at war, as well as the notion of being “carried away” by fantasy. Munro doesn’t waste a word. She packs her stories with rich images that convey twisted, tied together meanings.
Open Secrets, Alice Munro. (Vintage, 1995, 9780679755623)
Clarissa Caldwell - Clarissa Caldwell lives, reads and writes in Walla Walla, Washington. She has a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of ...
