Her Troublesome Husband by Ruth Collie
"Her Troublesome Husband" is a light comic verse by Ruth Collie, structured as a wife's affectionate litany of complaints about her husband's careless habits of dress and grooming. She catalogues his sartorial failings one by one: his neckties, which he knots so carelessly they look like a stray piece of string despite her pleading and scolding; his grey felt hat, which he stubbornly wears backwards year after year; and his cardigan vest, which he buttons wrong every time, skipping the first buttonhole and ending up mystified by the spare button left over. She extends the catalogue to his pockets, which he stuffs with scissors, pencils, books, matches, a tobacco pouch, a pipe, and a knife, turning him into what she calls a "lumpy disgrace" beside her, standing in implicit contrast to a tidy, well turned-out neighbor she holds up as the model of masculine polish. She imagines that if he would simply brush his clothes now and then and use hangers at night, he might achieve that same neat, delightful appearance. Despite the mounting inventory of grievances, each verse folds back into the same refrain: he will never be smart or stylish, she fears, and yet, all the same, he's really a dear. The poem's comedy rests on this repeated turn, in which each specific domestic irritation is undercut by the same tender, resigned affirmation of love, so that the wife's exasperation never curdles into real complaint but instead becomes a kind of backhanded tribute to a husband she finds endearing precisely because of, not despite, his rumpled, absent-minded ordinariness. The piece belongs to a genre of humorous domestic verse popular in the early twentieth century, built on gentle marital teasing rather than genuine conflict, and its structure as a sequence of stanzas united by a fixed refrain suggests it continues in this vein through further stanzas, each introducing a fresh small failing (his general resistance to being "improved") while reaffirming the same closing sentiment, so that the overall effect is a cumulative, good-humored portrait of a marriage where imperfection is treated as charm.
By Ruth Collie · First published 1927 · Genre: Light Verse, Humorous Poetry, Domestic Comedy · 308 words
First lines
"If only," she said (and wistful her eyes), "my husband would take a / pride in his ties; but somehow he makes them look like a string. / I've pleaded, I've bullied, I can't do a thing. He'll never look / smart or stylish, I fear -- and yet, all the same, he's really a dear! " / "Now why should he wear, year in and year out, his hat of grey felt / the wrong way about? And why, when he fastens his cardigan vest, he / should miss the first buttonhole, I've never guessed. And then he's / surprised there's one button to spare! I plead or I lecture, but he / doesn't care. He'll never look smart or stylish, I fear -- and yet, / all the same, he's really a dear! " "If all his pockets were merely / for looks, and not for his scissors and pencils and books; for / matches, for pouch, for pipe and for knife -- he'd not look a lumpy / disgrace to his wife. If he'd brush his clothes sometimes, use / hangers at night, he'd look like our neighbour, so smart -- a delight! / He'll never improve, not the slightest, I fear; but yet, I assure / you, he's really a dear. "
Genres
- Light Verse — The work employs humorous, rhythmic verse with consistent rhyme scheme designed for entertainment about ordinary domestic matters—the defining characteristic of light verse.
- Humorous Poetry — The central purpose is comic entertainment; the wife's litany of complaints about her husband's appearance is delivered through witty observation and affectionate humor.
- Domestic Comedy — The narrative focuses on marital dynamics and household life, treating everyday situations and gender roles with comedic sensibility.
- Poetry — The work is fundamentally structured as verse with consistent rhyme scheme, meter, and poetic devices throughout.
Tags
romance · marriage · domestic drama · relationship conflict · husband and wife · emotional tension · love story · family life · romantic fiction · interpersonal relationships · misunderstandings · reconciliation
What this Textopian page supports
Her Troublesome Husband is listed on Textopian as a short story by Ruth Collie, dated 1927 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Ruth Collie
- Date: 1927 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Light Verse, Humorous Poetry, Domestic Comedy, Poetry, Satirical Poetry
- Length: 308 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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