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The Bridges Of Francesca Analysis

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For a romance about Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid, The Bridges of Madison County mentions Francesca’s husband Richard a surprising number of times. When the story begins, Italian immigrant-turned farmer’s wife Francesca is home alone while her husband and teenaged children show a steer at the Illinois State Fair. Robert, a travelling photographer assigned by National Geographic to shoot the Madison County bridges, stops by Francesca’s home to ask for directions, leading to an affair. Richard Johnson may be out of sight for much of the story, but he is often on the minds of both Francesca and Robert. He influences their relationship from the moment Robert Kincaid’s truck pulls into the driveway.
Our understanding of Richard comes largely …show more content…

His first evening home, he asks if she is all right. She tells him nothing is wrong, but they both know that is far from true. The next day, when Francesca sees Robert leave town and breaks down crying, xx After Francesca finished mourning Robert’s departure, it is likely she and Richard worked on their relationship. They were never going to be perfect, but in the end, they lived a full life together. After Richard’s death, Francesca reflects on this. xx It was worth staying in Madison County, but that does not mean it was perfect. In Francesca’s letter, she recounts her husband’s dying words. xx No matter how hard Richard tried, he was never everything Francesca wanted, but he wishes he could have been. Richard may never have understood his wife, but there is no doubt he loved her deeply.
Richard Johnson, the plain farmer of Madison County, played as large a role in the events of The Bridges of Madison County as Francesca and Robert did, though he only appears in person on a handful of pages. He may have been out of sight often, but he was never forgotten and his influence is one of the strongest forces driving this story. He was not perfect, but he wanted to see Francesca happy, and in the end, that was almost

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