Fay Weldon

novels, she undermined many of the societal boundaries of the 19th century and in this sense, was very much a subversive element in society. Fay Weldon’s 1984 novel ‘Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen’ explores similar issues and serves to illuminate the reader’s understanding of the values and issues of Austen’s cultural context. By doing this Weldon encourages the modern reader…

potential to evoke varying responses from the reader. Two texts, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Fay Weldon’s Letter’s to Alice although written nearly 200 years apart, explicitly relate and articulate the differing contexts and responses. Austen and Weldon explore themes of women’s roles and expectations in their respective societies, in particular in terms of education and marriage, similarly Weldon aims to enlighten the modern reader regarding the social restrictions place on women…

the first thing people think of when they want to get even with their source of problem. In the book The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon, the main character named Ruth had used revenge to get back at her cheating husband. Ruth is a very surprising protagonist in the book. She is so surprising that she could pass as an antagonist instead. Fay Weldon uses the theme revenge is best served cold in the book to have Ruth reach her goal. Although commenter Michiko Kakutani writes that…

to uphold family status and connections. Even though they were protecting the same system that could have very much put them into poverty or into a miserable marriage. Very ironic that she would protect a system that she ultimately depended on. Fay Weldon said that there “70,000 prostitutes in London in 1801, out of a female population of some 475,000….” It was women like Lady de Bourgh that were very fortunate to be part of the few royalty and not of the many…

A comparative study of Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice and Fay Weldon’s, Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen, argues the values of social restrictions to dictate notions of success. The reading of Pride and Prejudice presents confusing perspectives on social restrictions and success in love, mannerisms and marriage. It is only upon reading Letters to Alice, an epistolary series does Weldon explicitly and implicitly comment on Jane Austen’s context, utilising her own context to allow…

being a child to facing the ‘beautiful’ world of adulthood. Fairy tales surround us; almost as if they are haunting us and are presented in many books that we would never think could be an option. But what classifies a fairy tale or makes a fairytale? Fay Weldon’s classic feminist tale The Life and Love of A She-Devil is a strong candidate of an icily adult fairy tale. This is a tale of how one woman, a mother and a normal housewife, is abandoned by her pig of a husband and replaced. The…

Living a life or lies and caring for just yourself may seem like the best way to live out your life, but in the end are you at peace with yourself, is your conscious clear, did you get your happy ending? Well, according to the British novelist, Fay Weldon and his observation about the best endings have a character who has had “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation”. In the fictional play, The Crucible, the character who has gone through the most moral development throughout the book…

women was harsh because women had little chance to make money on their own. Women who weren’t of high class had to to working long hours. According to Fay Weldon “ What a Terrible Time to be alive,” the authors states “You would be working eighteen hours a day or so, six-and-half days a week, with one day of a month, and thinking yourself lucky…”( Weldon 26). Women had to work really long hours to make a living. These women were also poor women. For people of a higher class, like Elizabeth and…

is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The story is set in the 1940s, where discrimination was prevalent. Therefore, Jefferson encounter with the harsh oppressive and racist nature towards blacks, lead him to lose a sense of his identity. Fay Weldon stated that “The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from their readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events -- a marriage or…

True Love Revenge and Regret Love, revenge and regrets are the themes in the stories “Killings” and “IND AFF or Out of Love in Sarajevo”. Spoken in a third person perspective is the “Killings”. However, first person perspective is used in “IND AFF or Out of Love in Sarajevo”. Revenge is understandable in one story and reprehensible in the other. One ends in regret the other avoids regrets. To vilify and humanize flashbacks are used in the“Killings”. However, a historic subplot is used in “IND…