Summary

“Weekend” by Fay Weldon starts with Martha, her husband Martin, and their three children, who are going away for the weekend to their country cottage. Martha prepares everything for the trip, as she does every Friday evening.

Martin is driving Martha’s car and complains about it on the way. The children find it funny, but Martha takes it very personally. She cannot complain because Martin would compare her to her paranoid, isolated mother.

Martha thinks that she should be happy with her life. On the way, she drowses off but her mind is constantly filled with her chores. She thinks about Martin’s ideal type of woman - which is something she struggles to be. She thinks about Martin’s secretary whom she suspects he finds attractive.

At the cottage, Martha unpacks everything, tidies the place and makes dinner, while the children play, and her tired husband makes the fire.

In bed, Martha thinks about the next days when they are to have several guests. She thinks about Colin and Katie. Colin is her husband’s friend and he left his wife Janet and their two children for Katie, a younger woman.

Past midnight, Colin and Katie arrive at the cottage. During the night, when Colin and Katie have sex,...