Irwin Shaw
Literary Critique - The Girls in Their Summer Dresses
August/22/2016 02:01 PM Filed: Literary Critiques
Photo Credit: Willem van de Poll
(Wikimedia Commons)
Irwin Shaw and Sexual Domination
In his 1939 short story, “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,” Shaw portrays a sexually compatible couple discussing their night together. Initially, nothing appears wrong until possessiveness emerges. Frances is an old-fashioned clinging vine concerned about her lover’s roving eye. She pursues Michael, interrogating him about every glance and affectionate appraisal he’s directed at another woman.
Although Frances claims she slept wound around him like a rope, a liberty he permits only on Saturday when the week’s work is done, this insecure heroine isn’t getting enough of something. She needs reassurance that Michael will never feel attracted to anyone else, reassurance he cannot give. He admits to appreciating beauty. Blatantly heterosexual, Michael refuses to hide his desire to look at women as they pass him on the street. In contrast, she claims she hasn’t looked at another man since their second date.
At the conclusion, Frances is crying. Her reaction is stereotypical, yet behind her sadness is a frustrated sense of challenge and a desire to possess Michael to the extent of controlling his thoughts. Her attempt to “lock him in,” much like a real estate agent would close a deal, will lead to one negative result: the end of their relationship. Once Frances reaches her destination, complete domination of Michael, she will lose interest.