WEEKEND BY FAY WELDON

Readers' Notes for Weekend by Fay Weldon

Who wrote this piece?

Fay Weldon was born in England in 1931 and grew up in New Zealand. After the age of five her family consisted of her mother, sister and grandmother, a world 'peopled by females'. She studied at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. In London, while a single parent, she worked in advertising. Her first novel, The Fat Woman’s Joke, was published in 1967 when she was married and had four sons. Since that time she has produced over 20 novels, numerous short stories, written for television and been a journalist and broadcaster.

Author photo: © Nigel Sutton

Click here for more biographical details, a bibliography and a critical perspective of Fay Weldon.

What is the piece and what is it about?

'Weekend' is a short story of about 6,000 words. It was published in the collection Watching Me, Watching You (1981).

The full text of the story can be downloaded from the BritLit Teaching English website. If you are an English Language Teacher there are also teachers' notes on 'Weekend' on the BritLit Teaching English website. The story concerns a weekend spent by a well-off English middle-class family, Martha and Martin and their children, at their country cottage. The story’s central focus is Martha and much of the writing represents her stream of consciousness as she struggles to ensure that her family and the weekend guests are properly fed and looked after. 

What kind of read is it?

The story progresses almost at breakneck speed, as Martha rushes from one task to another in an attempt to keep everyone – especially her husband, Martin - happy. We are presented with lists of things to be done, as when Martha drowses during the car journey and contemplates her responsibilities to her children: Doctors for the tonsils: dentists for the molars. Confiscate guns: censor television: encourage creativity. Paints and paper to hand: books on the shelves: meetings. With teachers. Music teachers. Dancing lessons. Parties. Friends to tea. School plays. Open days. Junior orchestra.

We are given insights into Martha’s feelings about her marriage, her children and her guests - in particular the beautiful, languid Katie.  ‘I say,’ said Katie, holding out a damp towel with evident distaste, ‘I can only find this. No hope of a dry one?’ And Martha had run to fetch a dry towel and amazingly found one and handed it to Katie who flashed her a brilliant smile and said, ‘I can’t bear damp towels. Anything in the world but damp towels,’ as if speaking to a servant in a time of shortage of staff, and took up all the water so there was none left for Martha to wash up. The language is straightforward and descriptive. The simple and direct style contributes to the sense of routine and the veneer of a stable, simple life. But reading between the lines and looking under the surface we can sense Martha’s emotions bubbling up with the increasing pressures and demands that are placed on her.

When we’ve read it, how could we structure our discussion?

• Although the story is written in the third person, we see things entirely from Martha’s viewpoint.  Do you think that the author shares all of Martha’s opinions?
• How would you characterise the relationship between Martha and Martin?  Do you know any couples like them? Does this story reflect your own feelings when you are with such people?
• Do you think that Martin would describe the weekend differently? And what would Colin or Katie’s version be?  How might the children see the characters and events?
• Why does Martha cry uncontrollably at the end of the story? Do you think that 'Weekend' is a comedy or a tragedy?
• Do you think that Fay Weldon’s experience as an advertising copywriter [She was famous for devising the slogan 'Go to work on an egg'.] proved useful in composing this story?

Reading group tip

You may find that your opinions about the characters divide quite strongly along lines of gender or personal experience of parenthood. If this is the case, you will need to ensure that each member of the group is given space to express their opinions clearly in the discussion. Come back to the piece of writing to help the group maintain objectivity if things get too personal. Try to understand the ways in which writers are provocative on purpose and might overstate an argument in order to gain a response.

If we enjoyed this, what other writing might appeal to us?

Fay Weldon has written novels in a similar style. Down Among the Women (1972) and Life and Loves of a She Devil (1983) are typical. In 2004 she published Mantrapped, which mixes fiction, non-fiction and autobiography. 

Fay Weldon’s story 'A Little Nest of Pedagogues' is included in New Writing 13. To download the text of that story, with Readers’ Notes and Teachers’ Notes see the Themed Section on Lessons in Life.

Click here for a full list of books by Fay Weldon on enCompass.

If you like short stories by women there are many collections and anthologies, why not take a look at the Reading Compass for Women's Writing Short Stories or try the Reading Compass for General Fiction for short stories and anthologies by both women and men.