The Country Husband

Some scholars suggest that the title of the story alludes to the Reformation comedy The Country Wife, which is a bawdy, satirical portrait of upper-class society and gender roles. What elements of the story could be considered farcical or satire? How does viewing the story through a comedic lens enhance your understanding of it? What moments in the text could be read as farcical?

The story employs limited third-person narration, grounding readers firmly in Francis’s perspective. Its descriptions of the neighborhood and its events are thus tinged with his point of view. Choose a line from the story that exemplifies this type of narration and discuss what it reveals about Francis’s mindset and the story’s themes. Is this perspective one and the same with the author’s? Why or why not?

Consider the female characters within the story, most notably Julia and Anne. Is Cheever able to reveal their perspectives despite the inherent limitations of the close third narrative style? If so, where in the text do their inner selves come through? How?