Weekend: Marriage Essay Example
Weekend: Marriage Essay Example

Weekend: Marriage Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (756 words)
  • Published: September 14, 2016
  • Type: Essay
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When two people get married, it is a union of love, devotion, and support. Marriage involves appreciating and assisting each other in times of need. While both the good and the bad are expected in a marriage, the positive aspects should outweigh the negative ones. However, in Fay Weldon's Weekend, poor Martha and her husband, Martin, experience the opposite scenario. From the start of the story, it becomes evident that Martha is an extremely busy woman.

Weldon immediately begins packing up the house and getting the children ready to leave for their weekend house. She is dressing the children, preparing the food, stripping the beds, and locking up the house. As the reader, it becomes evident that Martha never gets a break, whether she is at home or at their weeken

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d house. She is constantly working hard on something. Regardless of how much Martha does, her husband fails to recognize her efforts. He tries to control situations and prefers things to be done his way. Martin does not appreciate his wife, and it is evident when he belittles her and does not offer any assistance or help in any situation.

Martin doesn't appreciate Martha's cooking and cleaning efforts. He prefers a clean environment, so Martha spends all day cleaning to ensure everything is spotless. When Martin comes home from work on Friday, he doesn't offer to help and instead sits down to watch the news while Martha clears the table. Even when they arrive at their weekend house late, Martha still has work to do. Martin goes to bed after a tiring drive and lighting the fire, leaving Martha t

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handle clearing up supper and setting the dough to prove for the bread. This situation shows the unfairness of Martin relaxing at night while Martha works hard to meet his expectations. Martin is also particular about how things should be done, such as not allowing Martha to hang up a clothes line because he worked hard all week for a view of the countryside. To satisfy him, Martha buys extra towels and always follows his rules. On their first night at the weekend house, Colin and Katie unexpectedly show up at 1 in the morning.

Despite Martha's exhaustion, she continues to fulfill everyone's needs. Martin, aware of the late hour, asks Martha to prepare her famous mushroom omelets. He instructs her to cook the mushrooms separately and with lemon, as he often tells her what to do and how to do it. The guests, expectedly, leave for the night but surprisingly return the next morning without bringing anything. Martha comments on this to Martin, who defends Colin by saying he is his best friend.

In this passage, Martha feels mean because she doesn't expect Martin to bring anything. It is evident that Martin doesn't appreciate her and fails to support her. His disrespectful behavior is shown through his comments that make Martha self-conscious. Martha feels plain and boring compared to the young, beautiful, and exciting Katie who has nothing to her name. Martin's remark about perfume also adds to her discomfort. Martha is too busy taking care of everyone else to have time for perfume. Additionally, Martin glares at Martha when she listens to Katie and sits down, even though it was considerate

of Katie to finally take action. This story demonstrates Martin's lack of respect for his wife.

There is a possibility that Martin is envious of Martha because she loves her job. To address this issue, Martha paid for all the drinks and food for Saturday and Sunday as part of the agreement between them. This agreement was established as a condition for Martha to go to work. The fact that they have a contract between them regarding a job suggests Martin harbors some resentment towards her. He also blames her for things that are not her fault, such as saying she fusses over the children too much, which he believes caused Jenny's asthma. Martin also bickers with her without any valid reason, like when he argues about Martha not wanting roses.

Martin does not contribute to household chores or assist his wife while she attends to guests. Instead, he expects everything from her and constantly criticizes her actions. This lack of support is disheartening for Martha, as she should be receiving appreciation from her spouse. Their marriage appears to require improvement. Martha consistently goes above and beyond for Martin, and he should recognize this and make more effort to reciprocate in their relationship.

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