Who is Fay Weldon?

•contemporary British novelist, a woman writer and public intellectual•born into a literary family•graduated from St. Andrew’s University with a master’s degree in economics andpsychology in 1956•Weldon began her career in a position in the Foreign Office n the cold war•Weldon worked in the advertising industry and the mass oriented literature of radio and television, using them to construct a career and a public identity for herself •single mother•married a high school principal

What are the concerns of her novels and essays?

➡Her early novels privilege the lives of women without adhering to any one feminist party line.➡Increasingly foregrounded in Weldon’s later novels is human life restricted by the institutionalized constructs of late capitalism.➡Weldon defensively and offensively negotiates ideological constructions of womanhood by society such as:➡ injunctions to chastity, modesty, and silence; ➡ prohibitions against formal education for women; disdain for the literary production and commercial success of women writers; ➡ the application of double standards in the critical reception of their works.

Fay Weldon and Feminism

•Weldon came of age as a writer during the second wave of the Women’s Movement •She asserted that her stories are born out of personal indignation rather than feminist theory, Weldon at once embraces and distances feminism. For Weldon, the personal is political and writing is a political act.•She claimed “I was never writing [feminist] propaganda . . . just portraits and parables of theworld I saw around me . . .” (18 Jun. 2002). •Weldon possesses a particular talent for perceiving the world outside any particular orthodoxy.

What about Letters to Alice?

Weldon wrote the barely fictional Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (1984). Weldon purposely confuses fiction and nonfiction to deconstruct the literary culture industry: Aunt Fay, a writer, sends letters to niece Alice, a college student. Aunt Fay defines the realm offiction, differentiates high and popular literature, and advises Alice to read the traditionalcanon before writing for publication. Ignoring Aunt Fay’s prescriptive advice, Alicewrites and publishes a best-selling novel.

“the melodramatic pleasures of both Upstairs, Downstairs and Pride and Prejudice run through nearly all of Weldon's work” (Dickenson).

➡ Weldon has never divorced her “serious” literary work from her own enjoyment of women’s shared identity and community of interests: “The important thing is the opening of the mind to invention, the exercise of the imagination . . . the frivolous can be fantastic” (Letters to Alice 228)

Weldon had not reread Jane Austen’s works since her schooldays, until the mid-1980s when she adapted Pride and Prejudice for the BBC. Her study of Austen’s work prompted the barely fictional, anti-canonical Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (1984), which defines “literature by what it does, not by what it is” (10).

In the action of Letters to Alice, Weldon deconstructs literary tradition, she affirms it formally through her use of epistolary narrative. She also distinguishes between high and popular culture:[T]here is a copy of Jane Austen’s Emma here, and it’s well-thumbed.The other books are yet more tattered; they are thrillers and romances, temporary things. [Their characters] bear little resemblance to human beings, . . . exist for purposes of plot, and the books they appear in do not threaten the reader in any way; they do not suggest that he or she should reflect, let alone change. But then, of course, being so safe, they defeat themselves, they can never enlighten. (8)

Different focuses of the letters:The fictional Aunt Fay writes letters—actually social, historical, and literary commentaries— to her niece Alice, who reads nothing recommended by Aunt Fay—not Austen, Fielding, Tolstoy, Flaubert, or others—but composes and publishes a best-selling novel.

Letter 1: The City of Invention - a literary commentary?

•introduces notion of relevance•introduces concept of the canon - capital L literature•sets up the comparison between high and popular culture texts•establishes notion of place of story in people’s lives and relationship with meaning•metaphor has a kind of biblical connotation see celestial, eternal, immortal•symbolism of the castle - a fortress , strong, enduring, protected •introduces the significance of an audience for a writer p12•reasons for writers -•reflects on how time shapes perspective

popular culture texts are portrayed here a simple, single dimension

popular culture texts are portrayed here a simple, single dimension

Don’t burn Emma (high culture)- page 9• hierarchy of texts• emotional response to language• mental connections• personal response that resonates• notion of inchoate pleasure

Don’t burn Emma (high culture)- page 9• hierarchy of texts• emotional response to language• mental connections• personal response that resonates• notion of inchoate pleasure

Authors live in the real world

have ....vision and insight

build in the City of Invention for

readers who live in the real world

RelevanceRelevance

Letter 2: A terrible time to be alive - a social and historical commentary

•The Muse that inspires the writer•The Angel of the House (Virginia Wolf)•the influence that one’s world has on the writer: the air behind the writer and the more real and alarming figures that stand in front” referring to critics, friends, family (P27)•The novel form requires a reader more or less as cultivated as the writer. He, or she, writes out of a society: links the past of that society with its future. (P27)• Austen concerned herself with what to us are observable truths , because we agree with them. (p27) This quote comments on the way that values operate in texts - values can resonate with a reader or repel a reader? (Truth is a mirror of what we want to believe?)•Sets down that the life or personality of a writer is not particularly pertinent to an author’s work but the times are.. This is ironic considering how she is writing to Alice.

Letter 3: A training in docility - historical and social context

•biographical detail - her father was a clergyman•one of eight children - a small middle class family from the gentry - inherited wealth, servants, they thoght well of themselves•educated background - valued intellect highly•establishing the commercial link between Austen’s work and financial success•Social class and position is critical in her world•Lived in Steventon - a village - about 58 miles from London•Aware of world events•There was no feeling of being isolated.•Weldon points out (p39) that there is an absence of political power in her novels. She would have known about it but chooses to ignore it. She offers an explanation in another absence and that is there were very few organisations to mobilise individuals into ploitical groups.•Weldon suggest that Austen would have been surprised to be considered as “socially aware”. •On page 40 Weldon writes Austen analysed and refined ... the new refinement in human discourse: the new interest in underlying morality, the real not the religious morality, of the way people talk to each other, behave to each other, love or don’t love each other, and so on. She wrote from her own world and her own opiniion.•Parenting - defining characteristics - physical needs and education are prioritised and emotional needs were irrelevant.•Difficulties - primitive nature of health care, transport.•Austen with her sister was sent away to live •Applying some contemporary principles to Austen’s world.•Weldon stresses the importance of the public face in Austen’s world.

Letter 4: The Mantle of the Muse

Letter 5 : Pity the Poor Writer•Letter begins with Weldon talking about her moving to different cities. In her change of location to Canberra she personifies Northern Queensland saying it “lives by its wits physique” as a contrast to the “fictional place” of Canberra which is its own artistic creation. The contextual discussion about which city (Sydney or Melbourne) the Parliament house should be situated in is also talked about in this letter.Weldon states “different cities call out different audiences” meaning that every city has it’s own kind of demographics which bring out the taste of the audience and therefore making the novel be a success or fail. In this letter Weldon also states that women writers are not one’s that are able to speak on public platforms as they face “terror of public speaking which renders so many women dumb at times”. So she gives tips to Alice on how to be confident about speaking in public. Weldon speaks of Jane Austen in a pleasant manner, as she states that Austen saved her energy for writing and didn’t go to public platforms to talk about her novel. They never “obliged to present themselves upon public platforms”. Jane Austen had a style of writing, her knowledge, passion for writing all led to making her novels famous.She reveals the “mystery” questionnaires from post graduate students from England in this letter and how journalist’s answers differ from writer’s answers. Audience/writer x speaks/acts = enlightenment.Weldon makes the point that Austen’s works offer moral instruction, illustrating Elizabeth Bennet “listening to the beat of feeling rather than the pulsing urge for survival”. A very smart life-force image that well summarizes how characters can be role-models for readers. Jane Austen’s lifestyle was different from all writers and “her call to moral arms more muted; but it was there” she says and lets Alice know despite Austen’s uniqueness her “books live on”. Her books are still read today.

Letter 6: Letter to a Sister•Fay is responding to a letter from her sister EnidAttempting to mend the relationship between her sister and herself after a breakdown in relationship when Enid show herself as Chloe in one of Fays books because she sets dough to rise before going to bed so her husband Edward can have fresh bread in the morning “Any woman who waits upon her husband as a servant upon a master- and they are legion- all too easily sees herself as Chloe. But I made her up. I promise”. Fay is trying to explain to Enid that characters in books are fictional but readers who know the author compare themselves to the characters “Authors writhe and chafe at the notion that they are parasitical upon spouses, family, friends, colleagues. The charge is so nearly true, yet never quite …Fictional characters are simple and understandable – real people are infinitely complex, incomprehensible and even in appearance look one way one day and another the next.”She uses Jane Austens novel Emma to describe the difference between made up characters and describing someone already known “I am sure Miss Bates is based upon a real person ‘a woman that one may, that one must laugh at,’ says Emma … But when the writer describes and does not invent, he suffers the limitations of his own humanity, and appears spiteful, or bigoted, or not really entitled to comment at all.”There is a lack of belonging between Fay and Enid’s family as Enid’s husband Edward has banned her from the house and have lost contact due to the comparison in her novelShe is attempting to take the blame off herself in influencing Alice to write a novel and the contexts in her own novelUse of didactism in this letter as she addresses her sister in a conversational tone

Letter 7: Emma Lives•Weldon establishes Jane Austen’s context of Pride and Prejudice: Pride and prejudice was first called “First Impressions” and the first version was written in 1796 at a time of “famine and shortages.” Large rate of rural unemployment- most workers being temporary employees and during difficult time had no work. Many children died inside and outside the mother’s womb. Austen deliberately reveals no awareness of these international upheavals and consequent turmoil in England that took place during her lifetime. As Weldon states “ man, and especially woman, does not live by bread alone: he has to have books.” This statement shows that Austen’s use of an imaginary world increases our “sensibilities and our understanding, as mere information never can.” Austen’s novel can be described as a moral conduct as she analysed and taught a virtue ethics for middle class life that is still relevant to modern society. Fay Weldon states that while Austen provides readers with morals and values, it is up to the reader to apply them to increase moral development within the contemporary society “pass on the minutiae of the dealings between one human being and another: it is up to others to extrapolate from the small to the great, from the microcosm to the greater world.”The analogy of plots being pegs. “plots, I assure you, are nothing but pegs. They stand in a row in the writer’s mind. You can use one o another for your purposes, it makes some difference but not much, which one it is.” Weldon is making the statement that plots are not always the most important feature of a novel the build of characterisation, observation and meaning strongly support a text. “Writing must be in some way a shared experience between reader and writer.” (House of imagination metaphor page 87) “it must be a welcoming place, or exciting, if dangerous, or educative, if unpleasant o intensely pleasurable.” The notion of relevance. “it is observable in Jane Austen’s novels that it is the women who have moral struggles, rather than the men.” Austen explores women’s struggle to subsist in patriarchal England. Comparison between modern Americanised women that onlyBring money and land to men and women like Elizabeth Bennet who brought “intelligence, vigour and honesty” to Mr Darcy.

Letter 8: Oh! It’s only a novel! “Now you must remember Alice that at the time to read novels was a highly suspect activity” - Fay comments about how the nature of reading has changed in reverence to its associated context, in Austen’s context/ Pride and Prejudice it wasn’t universally acknowledged to read a good book, this was especially correct for women. - This resulted in Austen having to write secretly in her spare time, and not show her novels to her family of friends because it wasn’t associated with the norms or values of society at the time.o “You are building your house in the city of invention; the responsibility terrifies you. Presently you will open the doors and supposing no one wants to come in.”- For Austen writing her novels was half the battle as she kept most of it occupied in secret writing on her little desk at night. Women in Austen’s context were not predominantly associated with literary values, due to the patriarchal society in which they lived in. In Pride and Prejudice Women did not have much of an opportunity to express themselves upon issues such as marriage.o “Nothing changes for the writer. The centuries revolve around him/her with their changing mores and their ever improving methods of communication- but the activity is timeless”- Aunt Fay provides a limitless existence and no boundaries for the concept of writing.- The writer writes in their world, which then is passed through an imagined world, arriving to the world of the reader, in which they interpret the author’s words according to the cultural and social values of the context they live in.- Within Austen’s context marriage is how a woman would surpass difficulties in her life, with a husband by her side who would provide for her financially while she would look after the children.- This context is woven with string surpassing the ‘imagined’ world, to the reader. The centuries which come after them mould these values, introducing another layer towards the novel. “For women of good education, lively mind and no occupation to turn on the task… they were expected to take care not to offend, to set good moral tone and encourage the reader towards the goal of good behaviour and virtue”- In Austen’s context and Pride and Prejudice when women were given the ability to express themselves in literary texts, they must conform to guidelines set out by the normal values of society. - Good will and good moral tone are the values in which were desired for women to write about. This restricted discussion upon issues such as opposing marriage and being independent, which is what is explored in Pride and Prejudice through the heads strong protagonist Elizabeth Bennet.

Letter 9: I never read much

•‘Show your work to no one, not a friend, nor spouse, nor anyone. They know no better than you, but you will have to say something. The publisher or producer, eventually, will say yes or no, which are the only words you need to hear’Austen did not share her writing with anyone and Weldon conveys this idea. Weldon conveys the perception that people surrounding the author cannot critique their work. Austen used to write in hiding and the value of keeping work private is resonated through Weldon. The connection of time is, thus, evident as the notion of pe0ople critiquing links the past to the future through the analysis of the writing process.‘Love men if you possibly can, since they are the source of your gratification’Weldon conveys the notion of women experiencing pleasure through men. She thereby draws on Austen’s context and shows its reflection in her context, however the perception is rooted via differing values.E.g. Austen -> ideas of marriage and wealth.‘Reform yourself as well as the world’Weldon questions the purpose of the writer and examines the notion of the writing process. Weldon conveys the influence of social and political values and its sway when an author is pursuing the writing process. Weldon exemplifies the motif of time where she conveys the link of time and writing.Writing is all sacrifice, you see, especially on the part of the writer’s nearest and dearest. Do not think issuing advice and offering instruction is easy’Weldon questions the writer’s purpose within the writing process. She explores this by linking time and its influence in the writing process. Austen is, thus, reflected in Weldon’s novel as it conveys the notion of writers publishing their works in hope that there is a reflection of values with the reader. When these values resonate, the reader can take the writer’s imaginative world to alter their perception of reality.‘We join each other in shared fantasies, it is our way of crossing barriers, when our rulers won’t let us. Hand in hand in the human race abandons the shoddy, imperfect structures of reality, and surges over to the City of Invention’Weldon discusses the beauty of Literature through the metaphor of the City of Invention. Weldon discusses that readers visit the City of Invention as it is their shared escapism. Weldon’s idea of readers “crossing barriers” is evident through Austen when she challenges social norms through Elizabeth Bennet.

Letter 10: Are you sure they are all horrid?

•The knowledge of our time affects what the values that the novel offers us. Therefore, our values shape those values that the author is reflecting through their texts. “So we can never really know what anything is like, because the knowledge interferes with what we wish to know.” In this line, Auden makes the statement that when contemporary readers in the twenty-first century read Austen’s novels, certain values that are reflected through her text are often ignored since the reader holds their own beliefs that are reflective of their present day context, corroding the values that are accentuated throughout the novel. “it is interesting, is it not, that in her later novels Jane Austen took seriously what in her youth she could not.” Through this, Auden establishes that Austen’s novels reflect her beliefs which challenge the values of her context. In the lines that follow “love at first sight (Jane and Bingley) Weldon exemplifies Austen’s challenging values on marriage. In Austen’s era, marriage was based on financial stability rather than love but, as conveyed through her novel Pride and Prejudice, she believes that it should instead be based on love. “I think it is perfectly possible that Jane Austen the writer was very different from Jane Austen the person.” Weldon establishes that although Austen followed the social conventions of her time it did not necessarily meant that she agreed with them. Through Austen’s novels, she wrote from her own opinion, challenging the values present during the Regency era. Weldon makes the point that Austen didn’t marry because men were often afraid of the challenging values she presented. They were very much afraid of change and conformed to the social norms of that time. “I also think … that the reason no one married her … was that it was all just too much … shaking out great muddy gobbets of barbarity and incomprehension and cruelty … altogether better and improved.”The title of letter ten ‘Are you sure they are all horrid?’ is an allusion to Northanger Abbey, when Catherine Morland, the main character, has been introduced to gothic novels by her friend Isabella. Isabella has a list of other stories they can read and Catherine asks ‘are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?’. Catherine is using the word ‘horrid’ as contemporary people would use the related word ‘horror’ when talking about horror movies.

Letter 11: An annuity is a serious business

(I) Explores today’s writers as entering a world not simply of “invention” but of business; "and how did it happen that I, who started as a writer, have turned willy-nilly in to a performer?” (II) A criticism on the belief that the novel is a window to the author, that all fiction is inherently autobiographical; “that I made it up. No one believes this of course.”(III) The difficulties of being financially successful in the writing business.(IV) Criticises the analysis of literature; attempting to unravel the obscurities of the novel –“when you study a writer’s work in depth you are stealing from the writer; so much he or she offered you gladly, but you are greedy; you are demanding more.”(V) The difference between being successful in the writing business and writing a successful novel; “people are more ready to borrow and praise than to buy.” 

Letter 12: Let others deal with misery•

Letter 13: You have delighted us long enough•Social limitations on women during Austen's periodWeldon comments how women of Austen's time were told not to write beyond experience. Weldon discourages this advice. ◦ "Women were warned...to write about what they know, not to imagine"◦ "To describe, not to invent"However, Weldon explains how Austen was looking for "permission to invent". The reader learns about the judgmental society Austen wrote in. Despite these social restrictions, Austen "risks more", by rejecting social conventions which creates interest and attention towards her novels◦ "Alice, the new novelist (i.e. Jane Austen) risks more, because her readers know more" "Critics as bus drivers"Weldon discuss the impact of critics on the writer. She evaluates how critics play a substantial role on readers as they can dictate the experience or response of the audience ◦ "People listen to the driver, not bothered getting off"◦ "They read the reviews, but never the book"The reader learns about Jane Austen's critics and her response to their critical feedback◦ "A wise writer", in reference to Austen, "is not controlled by his reader's response, but is sensitive to it" A British Critic (1818) criticizes how, "she attempts to delineate fancy characters...she falls at once to the level of mere ordinary writers". ◦ Austen was criticized for being unimaginative Despite criticism, Austen takes notice of her family's opinion, her readers, and did not bother to absorb "newspaper reviews" ◦ "She collected and transcribed other people's opinion... By 'other people' read family and friends. She did not bother to quote the newspaper reviews. Perhaps they simply did not matter to her?"Purpose of a writerIn reference to Austen's varied collection of criticism, Weldon states how "everyone, when asked, has something to say, and everyone says something different". ◦ Weldon points out that writers need to be prepared for varied responses as many writers will encounter unsatisfied readersWeldon reinforces how seeking approval should not be the key concern of a writer, but rather the moral instruction/change "Don’t hang around waiting for approval. If its approval you want, don't be a writer" 

Letter 14: A Gently Lingering Illness•

Letter 15: A publisher’s offer•In this letter, Weldon highlights the issues related to the business of being a writer. She discusses the publication process of writing and critics and their influence on writers.Weldon states that publishers will publish novels if they will make a profit out of it, meaning if they think the critics will like the book (rather than the public) they will agree to publish the novel.She also gives advice on publication and choosing the right publisher: one “who sees his duty to the client” and not one who is “an outrunner for the Publisher’s Association”.She also emphasises the idea that critics have a significant influence on the writer. She insinuates that some write to please the critics in order for their book to become a bestseller.She says that publishers organise books into specific categories based on their judgement of whether they will make a profit out of it.She also states that if a publisher accepts a book, the writer should not worry about their view on it. Weldon advises authors to not change parts of their story to fit in better with the publisher’s version of a good book.Weldon also reinforces the dangers of being a writer and instead advises Alice to do an English Literature course and write.Furthermore, Fay encourages Alice to read Persuasion and forget about her Professor and boyfriend.

Letter 16: The marvel of Creation •The values and ideas originally thought of by the writer is modified through imagination and differs from the values and ideas of the reader- metaphor of the octopus. Jane Austen wasn’t writing for money and popularity but instead wrote for pleasure, and didn’t expect her work to carry on beyond her.An author’s work shifts the way the audience views them, but they are often “false and valid…altering truth as day melts into day…”Explores the concept of literary works being “immortal”- “it is the marvel at creation that can’t be destroyed, not the creation itself.”- meaning that it is the effort and value put into creating the work that makes the novel immortal. Jane Austen hid her work from family and friends, as she was not expected speak out and instead expected to be silent. The letter explores the notion of the wonderful effect of creation- how it is immortal and continues to live on.

Didacticism• Within the text, Weldon makes a point of writing in a didactic style. Not only does the character of Aunt Fay instruct Alice, she also instructs readers. This is done through interplay of fiction and non-fiction. By giving the protagonist her name, Weldon gives readers the feeling they too are being instructed by Weldon herself. However, by writing in this style, Weldon also forces readers to ‘engage in the deconstruction of didacticism’, question the power struggle within any teaching relationship and explore how ‘instruction itself is a construction’. The deconstruction of didacticism is done through irony. Throughout the text, Aunt Fay’s many instructions are followed by contradictory actions. As a result, she devalues the initial instruction. For example, Aunt Fay is clearly suspicious of categories like ‘the canon’ and ‘Literature’. However, she composes a list and frequently instructs Alice to read certain texts she believes are examples of Literature. Aunt Fay also sets out a number of rules for Alice in terms of reading and writing, yet wants Alice to rebel against the codes of university and society. The contradictory nature of her instruction is further evident through her need to have the last word. As Alice makes her own way through the City of Invention, Fay still insists on guiding her through it. This is highlighted through her sending of an “Alternative reading list for the easily distracted” and paying for her university attendance in the US. Fay’s contradictory views are further highlighted through her undermining of Alice’s achievements. By slighting the work of ‘best-sellers’, Aunt Fay undermines her own work as she is a best-seller. (“Best sellers are not generally-or indeed often-works of literature”) Thus it is clear that through opposing actions the concept of didacticism is undermined.Didacticism is in itself a power struggle. –This can be seen through the difference in didactic tone at the beginning and end of the text. Initially, through Alice’s asking of advice, strong didacticism is clearly evident through Aunt Fay’s instructions on writing and reading. “Don’t type Alice, if you persist on your insane literary plan, use a pen.” However, by the end of the text, the didactic tone becomes weakened as Alice rejects Fay’s instruction and becomes successful as a result. This is evident in the way Fay suggests things instead of outright instructing Alice. “Let me give you the first paragraph...the rest is up to you”. Thus it is clear that didacticism is a power struggle between the writer and the reader. By rejecting the instruction put forth, a reader can upset the balance of power initiated by the writer.Instruction itself is a construction- by combining two didactic forms (essays and letters) Weldon questions the workings of didacticism. The letter is a common form through which opinion is expressed. However, so as to not look so forceful in instruction, Weldon combines the letter form with fictional characters and plot to make the text’s contents more accessible.