Everyone has regrets, ranging from not being fast enough to grab that last chip from the bag to doing something terrible and getting someone else blamed for it. Most of the time, you can make up with the person you wronged, and you can go on with your life. However, in the short story The Moustache, it explores the feeling of guilt when the person you wronged is long dead. A theme in this story is how unresolved guilt and regret has a habit of sticking around in your mind for a very long time.
In the story, Mike goes on a regular trip to Lawnrest, his grandmother’s nursing home. When he gets there, his grandmother appears happy to see him, and calls him by his name. Soon however, he realizes that she thought he was her husband, who Mike was named after. He realizes she recognized him as her long dead husband because of the moustache he grew. Mike’s grandmother recounts how she falsely accused him of cheating with another woman, and how that damaged their relationship in later years. She apologizes, and said she didn’t apologize before because of her pride. After this ordeal, she seemed to be tired out, and goes to sleep. After this, Mike goes home and shaves his moustache.
In this story, a reader can clearly see the theme of holding on to regret, with the grandmother still feeling guilty forty years after the offended was dead. Back when her husband was still alive, she was too proud to say sorry, and because he died before she apologized, she never got the chance. Even though her mental state has deteriorated to the point when she mistakes her grandson for her husband, her guilt still remains. Only when she apologized and got the forgiveness of who she thought was her husband could she finally be at peace, symbolized by her falling asleep.
A main point in The Moustache is how you should apologize when you still can, or the regret might stay with you for your whole life. The grandmother was lucky in that she had the opportunity to apologize to her husband, if only in her mind, allowing her to let go of her guilt. Most other people wouldn’t get that opportunity.