Who Is Francis In The Country Husband

In The Country Husband by John Cheever the Francis Weed is an upper class family man living in New York. His character is revealed through the way the author describes him, the way that he acts and speaks, and what others say to him. The aspects of his character that are shown through these mediums are that Francis is a misogynist, he is extremely competitive and controlling, and he is unhappily married. Francis has an extremely competitive and controlling nature, in the book he is constantly attempting to display himself as the alpha male. One way this aspect of Francis’s character is revealed is through how Francis speaks to and treats his wife, Francis “[limits] her to two week-night parties, putting a flexible interpretation on Friday”(75).

This element of Francis’s character is elucidated through his relationship with his children’s underaged baby sitter Anne Murchison, he continuously lusts over her as if she is a piece of meat he even goes so far as to say that “He could go to a psychiatrist… [or] he could rape the girl”(86). Francis refers to raping Anne as a mundane task or errand, he shows no value for her inherent worth as a human being and simply sees her as a tool for pleasure. Furthermore, Francis is obsessed with the sexuality of woman and constantly lusts over women, as Francis is waiting for the train another train passes by with a woman who is naked in the window. After the train leaves Francis cannot stop thinking about her describing her as “Venus combing and combing her hair”(78). Francis also sees women for their sexuality and physical characteristics, he is enamored by any attractive young woman he gazes upon and is immediately filled with lust at the sight of them. In addition, Francis incredibly rude to women, when his neighbor Mrs. Wrightson is talking to him about her drapes Francis tells her to “Paint them black on the inside, and shut up”(78). Francis takes a sick pleasure in being impolite to a neighborly woman who was simply attempting to make conversation while waiting for the train. When Francis interacts with a woman in the story he is either belittling them or sexualizing them, he does not see women as equals to