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Comments

The style and paragraphing of this story are typical of Fay Weldon's writing. Much of the comedy - and of the underlying humanity of the story - is in the allusive language on which it is virtually impossible to comment without being laborious and spoiling the lightness. One tiny example out of dozens will illustrate the problem. In the third paragraph we read: 'All the better to flirt in … all the better to work in ...' Obviously this is a comic contrast. English readers will also hear echoes of the Bad Wolf pretending to be Grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood. 'What great eyes you have, Grandma!' 'All the better to see you with, my dear 'What great teeth you have, Grandma!' 'All the better to EAT you with ...' The echo is scarcely conscious, and should not normally be the subject of an extensive note. But English, like Russian, is full of such echoes, and even when you cannot recognise them, you should be able to hear the liveliness of a voice which is constantly jolting our linguistic memory - usually for comic effects.

1 The 'bottom line' is the line drawn at the bottom of a sum in arithmetic, and specifically of an account in which money is added and subtracted. It is almost always used metaphorically to mean, 'the only fact that ultimately matters is the amount of money available (for a plan or a project)'. The 'sharp end' is the bows of a ship (the front end) and it is also used metaphorically to describe difficult and pioneering experiences. 'I was at the sharp end' means 'I was pushing alone through unknown waters, rather than being helped along in a company of supporters.' Avril adapts the metaphors for her own use.

2 'drifted up-market': slowly changed so that it appealed to people of greater wealth and higher social status than formerly.

3 'decaffeinated coffee ...low-calorie wholewheat sandwiches': self-consciously 'healthy' food, much favoured by this class of people. Weldon makes many jokes about the changing fashions of different classes and groups. Of course the class comedy is almost impossible to explain, and much more complicated than Russian (or Soviet) traditional accounts would suggest. But Weldon is explicit about the difference between Avril and Helen's other customers, and she also traces back the changing fashions of Avril's world of struggling actors and unglamorous night clubs.

4 'henna-and-grey': henna is used for dying hair red or reddish - but the grey is showing through.

5 'pony-tail': long straight hair gathered together high on the back of the head, and then allowed to drop freely.

6 'ethnic': in this context popular word for third-world countries, especially when discussing their crafts and art.

7 'either real or Harrods make-believe': either (for example) real diamonds or very high-quality artificial diamonds - unlike Avril's ostentatious stage jewellery

8 'DIY': Do It Yourself - i.e. handyman's work which the householder does himself, instead of paying an expert to do.

9 'Lady Godiva': A mediaeval heroine who, to save her husband's honour, rode round Coventry on a horse, dressed only in her long hair. The townspeople, out of respect, avoided looking at her.



10 'Behind the bicycle shed': traditional corner in the school grounds where unobserved experiments in smoking, sex, and other forbidden activities could be carried out.

11 'I lived to tell the tale': jocular expression meaning I survived a difficult time so that at least I could enjoy talking about it afterwards.

12' Mayfair': Upmarket, sub-pornographic magazine.

13 'junkie trying to kick the habit': drug addict trying to give up drugs.

14 'I want a new me': 'I want a new personality, a new identity'.

15 'end-of-the-year show': the display put on by drama students to attract directors who might want to employ them.

16 'National': read the story, 'Groundlings', in this collection.

17 'beehive': hair style in which hair is combed up and piled on top of the head, and held in place with hair-spray.

18 'terminations': abortions

19 'breaks': lucky chances

20 '1 just loved the look on your face!': Usually, as here, used of pleasure at someone else's look of shock, horror or bewilderment.

21 'After the Godiva look ...': a witty run-through of all the various styles she has undergone - and it gives a context for her brave, comic, unselfpitying 'just plain bald might work wonders for a girl's career'.

 


Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1034


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