Fay Weldon

the long version

For three decades, in plays, television scripts, short stories, and novels, Fay Weldon has been chronicling the lives of women. Using dark humor to describe the experience of women in contemporary society, her satire focuses on human folly, depicting flawed characters who err in a ridiculous fashion. In this study Lana Faulks focuses on the author's novels. She investigates Weldon's feminist concerns, and traces her development as a novelist. Chapters are divided thematically with some attention to chronology. The book also examines Weldon's diverse fictional structures: her use of allegory, fairy tales, science fiction, suspense, and romance fiction as models for plot construction. In an early chapter, which deals with Weldon's first three novels, Faulks analyzes the inner conflicts of the female characters, who are torn between traditional roles of womanhood and the search for personal identity. In subsequent chapters Faulks shows why the works reveal how the social concepts of romance and nature contribute to women's self-definition. An invaluable resource for literary students who seek to understand Weldon within the context of her British contemporaries, and for those who are interested in the author's feminist perspective.