In Dressing Up for the Carnival, written by Carol Shields, there are many stories which involve relationships between men and women. In the stories "Windows", "Weather", and "The Next Best Kiss" Carol Shields explains the difficulties between men and women. In the story "Windows", a man and a woman get affected by their surroundings in and around their house. The married couple in "Weather" is really affected by the environment when the meteorologists go on strike. The protagonist in "The Next Best Kiss" explains her feelings towards her relationships with men. In these stories the characters are greatly affected by their surroundings and their environment.
             In the story "Weather" the environment and the surroundings are reflected on the husband's and the wife's emotions. Ever since the meteorologists went on strike, the couple had been in a bad mood because of the weather and so on. One of their difficulties was trying to pick what they would wear that day, not knowing what the weather would be like. They were both in a bad mood because of it and they would take it out on each other. The wife would explain her dilemmas in the morning, "I found it impossible to look directly at my husband during those early decisions." The husband had been the most affected by the strike hence shown in his behavior towards his wife, "By morning I was sobbing into my pillow, but my husband, who had risen earlier, was not there to offer comfort." The weather and the strike had caused a bad environment for the married couple, which caused them to feud, "We tended to bump into each other around the house, getting on each other's nerves..." Once the meteorologists' strike was over the wife and husband were back to normal again; they were again the happy married couple they were before the strike, "My husband and I slept in each o...