Analysis of 'Weekend' by Fay Weldon: Themes & Characters

Info Sheet — Weekend

by Fay Weldon

1. Basic Information

Title: Weekend

Author: Fay Weldon (British writer)

Year: First published in Cosmopolitan in 1978

Narrative & Context

Narrative Style

Third-person limited, moving into the protagonist’s thoughts (stream of consciousness)

Social Context

1970s Britain — traditional gender roles still dominant, despite emerging feminist debates

Martha

Central protagonist, working mother

She works as a market researcher but still carries the main load of housework, childcare, and social hosting. Martha constantly tries to balance career, family duties, and her own identity, often feeling exhausted and unappreciated.

Martin

Martha’s husband

He works too and often fails to recognize Martha’s emotional labour, feels resentful that her earnings approach his. He embodies traditional male expectations and often criticizes Martha subtly.

Katie

Colin’s younger girlfriend

She contrasts with Martha: she is childless, carefree, and seen as attractive. Her presence makes Martha uneasy about ageing and her own role in life.

Colin

Martin’s friend

He left his wife Janet for Katie. His relationship highlights themes of male desire and the disposability of women as they age.

3. Plot Summary (Chronological)

The story follows Martha, her husband Martin, and their three children on a routine weekend trip to their country cottage. Martha prepares everything, juggling work and home duties. On the way and at the cottage, Martha’s inner thoughts reveal her anxieties about her marriage, her husband’s possible attentions to his secretary, and her feeling of being taken for granted.

Climax & Setting

The arrival of friends (Colin and his younger girlfriend Katie) intensifies Martha’s feelings of inadequacy. The climax is emotional rather than dramatic: Martha breaks down crying when her daughter gets her first period, realizing her daughter may face the same societal pressures she has.

The story is set in 1970s Britain, mainly at a middle-class family home and a country cottage, and takes place over the course of one weekend. The everyday setting highlights traditional gender roles and domestic expectations.

4. Teaching Aspects

The story exposes restrictive female gender roles within marriage and family life.

It highlights the invisible and unpaid labour carried out by women.

It explores the tension between female professional ambition and domestic duty.

Teaching Aspects (Cont.)

It focuses on the construction and erosion of female identity.

It criticises social pressure and normative expectations imposed on women.

It can be interpreted as a feminist critique of patriarchal social structures.

5. Top 10 Words / Thematic Vocabulary

Gender roles • Societal / patriarchal expectations • Placing men in positions of authority • Traditional female role model • Chores at home • Identity conflict • Double burden • Self-perception • Emotional suppression • Liberation vs. Obligation