Given Circumstances/SOCIETY & PREVIOUS ACTION

SOCIETY in A Weekend Near Madison is loose and diverse, accommodating a wide range of fairly liberal views. The most “normal” relationship, at least on the surface, is the one between David and Doe. Despite their laidback “hippy” sensibility they retain a wholesome Midwestern charm. They present a view of society that is completely non-judgmental and accepting. The problem with being COMPLETELY open-minded and accepting is that neither David nor Doe are willing to label anything BAD or WRONG. So, it takes them a year to realize that the abortion was a BAD choice for them. They either do not realize they regret aborting the pregnancy or they are ashamed to admit it because SOCIETY deemed the right to choose was progressive and a politically correct thing. Roe versus Wade had just happened in 1973 and abortion was legalized and the woman's right to choose became a huge victory for women's rights---a cause David and Doe would have supported. Having the abortion would have, on the surface, seemed like a socially conscious choice---a stand for their liberal beliefs.

Nessa and Sam are the flip side to David and Doe. At first glance they seem to be a pair of crunchy, woo-woo, lesbian folk singers. Ironically, underneath they are pretty conservative. They are trying to settle down and fit into a way of life that feels familiar to them---a home, a child. They also speak pretty frankly about what they want, bulldozing through polite hoo-ha in order to address the issues in their lives that make them unhappy.

The hitchhiking wandering artist, Jim, is really the most conservative and vulnerable in the world of A Weekend Near Madison. His dissatisfaction with the role that men have taken in the wake of the women’s movement becomes clear and moving when he tells Nessa, “We [men] are important too” and later when he asks her, “Do you remember me?” He has been left behind by a society moving too fast and too far from the traditional values he secretly yearns for.

PREVIOUS ACTION is prevalent in A Weekend Near Madison and works with SOCIETY by opposition to force action. The script is peppered with references to past days, when everyone was happier. At one time David, Doe, Jim and Nessa lived in a commune where everyone contributed to a better way of life. In addition to Jim’s feeling vital and “connected to something deeper” during his day of wood chopping, all the characters express a more than casual fondness for the good old days. They all remember and relate MANY specific and personally wonderful moments in which they experienced a feeling of acceptance, significance, and completion. In the world A Weekend Near Madison, SOCIETY demands new roles for men and women. Although these roles are definitely progressive, David, Doe, Jim, Sam, and Nessa all feel the rub of loss when looking to the past, and tension is built as the characters take advantage of a liberal and open society while simultaneously seeking aspects of a traditional way of life.