Given Circumstances/ECONOMY & RELIGION

ECONOMY and RELIGION take a back seat in A Weekend Near Madison. David, Doe, Nessa, and Sam are fairly successful, comfortably so at least. One couple, a DOCTOR and published WRITER, own a home and the other couple, both musicians, have an impressive tour schedule. This suggests that they have money, at least enough to live on. Jim, the wandering artist, must also have a nest egg around somewhere, either money left to him by his father or money saved from his gallery job. He has been able to NOT work for a while and we know from his frank conversations with both Doe and Nessa that he is not selling any paintings of his own. David supervises the mental health care for all the hospitals in the area and teaches at a local unnamed University; however, his packed schedule is most likely a comfortable way to keep him distracted from the personal issues surrounding Doe’s abortion rather than a way to earn extra needed income. Nessa’s band’s busy tour schedule suggests two things:

-The Awakening is successful.
-The Awakening is not successful ENOUGH to draw a fan base to a major venue in a larger city. They have to play Podunk towns to pay the bills.

Jim mentions to David that he has only a little while longer before he must return to work. It is unclear whether this is because he is running out of money or because he is simply tired of having no focus and needs to return to a familiar routine. Jim’s conversation with Nessa later regarding the possibility that he might join them for the remainder of their tour suggests that money is indeed a secondary concern.

All of the characters in A Weekend Near Madison fall into a category of thoughtful, socially aware people who do not place a high value money---and in some cases might show disdain for anyone who does. It is easy to see why money or at least the DISCUSSION of money might not be front and center in their world.

There are similar dynamics at play with RELIGION. A socially liberal frame of mind dominates the world of A Weekend Near Madison and imposes an EITHER/OR attitude to religion---either RELIGION or COMMON SENSE. Abortion and the gay marriage--- to a lesser degree--- are the two most likely ways to introduce RELIGION in the play. Saying abortion has RELIGIOUS relevance is a pure example of litote. But there is no attention paid to this in the play, not even when the details of Doe's late term abortion are revealed. Likewise, Nessa and Sam reveal they want to have a child and there is no condemnation. Jim mentions during a moment of duress that [he's not sure if a child should be raised only by women] but that is a response to feeling negligible and not from religious beliefs. This lack of RELIGION in A Weekend Near Madison suggests that in order to honor their ideals and fit into SOCIETY, the characters have simply done away with RELIGIOUS dogma---like tossing those irritating underwear that you get fed up with and FINALLY throw out for good. Aside from the occasional "Oh my God!" there is no indication that RELIGION even exists in the the world of the play.