IND AFF Fay Weldon

Red Flags People are often unaware they are in a bad situation until realization hits them. This is exactly what happens to the main character in Fay Weldon’s short story “IND AFF”. Through the use of character development, the setting of the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, and the first person narrative of a young scholar, Fay Weldon develops the central theme that a timely realization can set people free. Character development is essential for the making of “IND AFF”. Weldon’s most developed character is the narrator. She is a young student with a passion for knowledge. With this passion we see a lot of energy from her. Weldon shows this passion for knowledge in the narrator by making her words exciting and asking a lot of question about the

The beginning of the story starts off by saying “It rained in Sarajevo, and we had expected fine weather.” Not only were they experiencing bad weather in Sarajevo but also Serbia and Croatia in which they had visited prior to arriving at Sarajevo. This simple description of the setting sets up how the rest of the story pans out for the narrator and Peter’s trip in Sarajevo. Both Peter and the narrator were looking to have a romantic and peaceful time on their holiday to see if their relationship was the “Real Thing”. Instead, their holiday experience was that in which resembled the weather. Peter and the narrator were not getting along. There was a lack of sexual intimacy partly because of the weather. The narrator explains how the weather was too wet to do what they “loved to do” which was making love at a picnic. Also the hotel room in which they were staying was “small and dark” and was not a very romantic place for the two. So as the “black clouds swishing gently all over Europe” continued, the couple’s intimacy also continued to fade. The author makes it clear that the relationship is entirely based on sexual acts. The narrator subconsciously knows this to be true also. But It is not until she comes to realization at the end of the story that she learns the relationship is not meant to be. While the weather in Sarajevo is a reflection of the couple’s doomed relationship, the history of Sarajevo is