Francis Weed In John Cheever's The Country Husband

In John Cheever’s “The Country Husband” the undeniably conflicted protagonist Francis Weed is an outcast. Francis is exposed through his interactions with his kids, wife, mistress, and neighbors. The atmosphere of Shady Hill adds perspective on how Francis behaves. The name of the town Shady Hill implies deception, mischievousness, and bleakness. Which are all characteristics that Francis exhibits. However, Francis also shows intrigue, love, and emotion. Francis’s characteristics originate from the society he lives in and from his newly acquired near death experience.

Francis Weed is initially revealed as being open. Francis is open from the first smile he gives to the man sitting next to him on the plane (Cheever 74). Francis continues to be open when he reaches home and makes an attempt to try to get his kids to talk to him Francis describes his kids behavior as being “absorbed in their own antagonisms”( Cheever 75). Unlike the room in his house where “nothing was neglected” Francis is being neglected by his own children (Cheever 75). Francis’s persistence of getting his own kids to notice what he has been through in the past couple of hours shows how disengaged and how very little care his family

Francis turns to some of the more vile characteristics which are jealousy, lust, and anger. Francis first sign of anger after falling in love with Anne is him acting rude to Mrs.Wrightson where he tells her “Paint them (window curtains) black on the inside, and shut up” (Cheever 81). Francis’s rudeness leads to his realization of “how many years had passed since he had enjoyed being deliberately impolite” exemplifying a change in the character’s behavior. Francis’s persona of what matters most turns into full-fledged anger when he is arguing with Julia and proceeds to strike her. Francis at this point has lost himself in a relationship that is meant to be more than just