Weeekend by Fay Weldon - Marthas life

Weekend is a fictional story that concerns a weekend spent by a rich English middle-class family, Martha and Martin and their children, at their country cottage. The storys 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. Martha is the kind of obedient housewife,who does e erything that stands in her power to satisfy the needs of e ery member of her family.!he doesnt contradict her husband,she doesnt "uarrel.!he does her #ob e eryday without waiting for something in e$change.E en her car is e"uiped with accessories for an entire family.!he doesnt ha e her own car,like Martin%her car is her familys car.&er husbands car is #ust his.!he must deal with great difficulties.&er car is also old.When Martin refers to the car as being old or 'too wide about the hips( he is actually refering to Martha.Martha herself could hear her description in that of the car and #ust like all women on earth she worries about getting old and ugly. The fact that the kids ha e the same initial letter in their names- J )*asper, *enny, *olyon+ reflects the monotony in Marthas life.!he has to deal with all kinds of problems,regarding her childrens health,school,teachers,but also regarding her friends. The story progresses fast and dangerously,as Martha rushes from one task to another in an attempt to keep e eryone,especially her husband, Martin - happy. !he is always carefull not to make a mistake that could disturb or upset Martin.!he thinks the ideal wife should be a super-woman.!he always feels compelled to satisfy Martins needs.she knows what he wants,what he likes. We are presented with lists of things to be done, as when Martha drowses during the car #ourney and contemplates her responsibilities to her children- .octors for the tonsils- dentists for the molars. /onfiscate guns-censor tele ision- encourage creati ity. 0aints and paper to hand- books on the shel es- meetings.With teachers. Music teachers. .ancing lessons. 0arties. Friends to tea.!chool plays.1pen days. *unior orchestra. We are gi en insights into Marthas feelings about her marriage, her children and her guests - in particular the beautiful 2atie. 34 say, said 2atie, holding out a damp towel with e ident distaste, 34 can only find this. 5o hope of a dry one6 7nd Martha had run to fetch a dry towel and ama8ingly found one and handed it to 2atie who flashed her a brilliant smile and said, 34 cant bear damp towels. 7nything in the world but damp towels, as if speaking to a ser ant 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 descripti e. The simple and direct style contributes to the sense of routine and the false

image of a stable, simple life. 9ut reading between the lines and looking under the surface we can sense Marthas emotions bubbling up with the increasing pressures and demands that are placed on her shoulders.Martha is treated like a ser ant by almost e erybody.4ts like she cant get out of the circle she is imprisoned in.Martin is always patroni8ing her.he makes her feel small and insignificant.!he doesnt get any thank you: for all her work.7nd she doesnt say a word.There is a fragment where (Martha dreamt she was eating coal,by handfuls and liking it.( The dictionary of symbols says about coal that it is the perfect image of self-restrain in a tumultous person.Eating coal may suggest Marthas repressed feelings,her incapacity to respond,to ob#ect.!hes ery passi e,she doesnt make the effort to get out of humiliating situations.E erybody,especially Martin is critici8ing her and he does nothing at all for her.!he feels she has the duty to care for e eryone,but she doesnt care at all about herself.!he doesnt ha e the strength to fight the psychological agression of those close to her. The story deals with Marthas domestic and emotional work along with social e$pectations from her husband and other adults. 4t is a powerful tale which makes the reader think about contemporary gender roles and although the story was first published in ;<=> it does not feel dated and in some ways is possibly more typical now than then. 7lthough the story is written in the third person, we see things entirely from Marthas iewpoint. The reader is gi en a iew of the 0rotagonist, Marthas life. 4t is one of endless hardship and toil for her uncaring husband Martin. 7s the story "uickly unfolds, it becomes e ident that Marthas strained life has taken its toll on her mind and that she is almost cra8y% Fay Weldon ends the piece with a dramatic and thought pro oking conclusion. The ending to the piece is ery dramatic, perhaps not on the le el of a massi e e$plosion or a shocking e ent howe er it does make the reader pause for thought at the e$tensity of what it presents and the writer used many techni"ues to make the reader appreciate this. E erything in this piece is dominated by the issues that run throughout. ?nderlying themes of se$ism, gender ine"ualities, body image and gender stereotyping are presented ery strongly, making its presence ery felt with the reader. For things to change,women like Martha should change their conception on life,their attitude towards life and people.Women should try to change the men that stand beside them and if they cant be changed they must be gi en up.