Her Lover is a perfect example of a short story because it meets all the criteria of the ideal short story. The setting is stated briefly just to give you an idea of ​​when and where the story takes place. There aren't too many characters, and the ones that are introduced aren't overly explained or drawn out. The plot is interesting and you can clearly tell where the rising action, climax and falling action are in the story. The conflict is clearly highlighted by the author. The only problem is the question of point of view. At the beginning of the story, someone says, "An acquaintance once told me the following story," and then the majority of the story seems to be told by this acquaintance of this person. Then, towards the end, in a sort of presentation of the moral of the story, the narrator says: "My acquaintance shook off the ashes, looked thoughtfully at the sky...". This helps decide which person the story is being told to, whether it's the actual person who experienced the story or just someone repeating a story they've heard before. The context is clearly stated at the beginning....