Michael versus Francis

Though “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses” was written in 1939, one of the key themes of this short story still pertains to today. No matter if it is man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, most people I’ve come into contact with have admitted to being jealous in their relationship. However, when it comes to the characters Michael and Frances in Irwin Shaw’s’ 75-year-old prose, we can see just how evident jealousy is in their relationship. At first glance, I thought that Frances was more “right” than Michael. I mean Michael spends so much time checking out other girls and even admits to the idea that one day he may even act upon his desires but, subjectivity aside, I believe it is actually Michael who is in fact more right than Frances. We can see this by first analyzing the two characters, second looking at the conflict, setting, plot, point of view, and style, third looking at some descriptions and quotations from the short story itself to show how Michael is in the right, before finally looking at the idea that even though Frances is more trapped, Michael is “more right.”

Michael and Frances very much embody the man and woman stereotype. Michael’s main traits are that he is well dressed, wearing a collared button down shirt, sweater, coat, and slacks. He has wide hair and a beard. He speaks very matter-of-factly to Frances. You can tell he, for lack of a better term, wears the pants in the relationship. His cares and morals are questionable. He is obviously very much in love with Frances but still is taken by the beautiful, younger women in New York City. But even though he can’t seem to keep his eyes to himself, he still cares about Frances and his relationship with her. Frances’ main traits are that she is well dressed,...

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... to find someone more suited for him.

Now a days, so many people get worked up at the fact that one person in a relationship looking at people outside of the relationship is bad but in fact, it’s human nature. Yes, there are some aspects of human nature that are considered “morally wrong,” but we still do it. I’m not validating Michael’s desires but I am respecting him for so boldly announcing them to Frances. I’ve learned in my relationship with my fiancé that communication and honesty are two key factors in a thriving relationship and even though Frances’ feelings were evidently hurt, I believe Michael did what was best for him and his relationship with Frances. So by analyzing the text, and setting aside subjectivity, I believe Michael is more right than Frances and can only hope that if these characters were based on real people, they lived happily ever after.