Short Story Review: “After the Funeral” by Tessa Hadley

(The short story “After the Funeral,” by Tessa Hadley, appeared in the March 28^th, 2022 issue of The New Yorker.)

I don’t think I’m telling you something that you don’t already know, but there sure aren’t many stories about mother and daughters. Hey, I know that there are some great mother and daughter stories out there, but if you compare it to the number of father and son stories, then you can see that mother/daughter’s haven’t been given enough due.

“After the Funeral” by Tessa Hadley is a mother/daughter story. It begins just like you’d think, after the funeral of Philip, a BOAC pilot who has died in a hotel away from his wife, Marlene, and his two daughters, Charlotte age nine, and Lulu age seven. Marlene is so grief stricken that her two daughters have to step in, not only to console their mother, but also to push her to just function as their mother. Soon it is revealed that Philip wasn’t a very good father nor husband, as when he died, he was not alone in his hotel. Soon, Philip’s family, especially an over baring mother-in-law, steps in to take charge of Marlene, Charlotte and Lulu’s life; sorting out finances, having them move to a more affordable flat, paying for the girl’s school, and helping Marlene get a job at a doctor’s office. Time passes for this small family, and soon the married doctor Marlene works for starts spending more time with her and the girls, but soon Marlene is let go from the job due to implied reasons. Marlene finds another job at a grocery store that supports her family, and fulfills her. At the same time Charlotte is accepted to go to University, but refuses because she feels her mother cannot function without someone watching out for her. The doctor reappears, now having separated from his wife and wants to marry Marlene, but Marlene cannot commit to him, which bothers Charlotte immensely, as the marriage to the doctor would allow Charlotte to leave her mother, and go off to college.

It is a very well-made plot, and a very well-made story. It’s beautifully written, and shows that Tessa Hadley is a very good writer. Yet, something was still off for me. It was the climax of the story, which I will not spoil. This story is very direct, which is shown by the fact that the title is literally the first line of the story, which to me signaled that this is the moment that these lives all changed their trajectory. What they thought their lives would be has completely changed, and the relationship between Marlene and Charlotte is central to that idea. Marlene has not been the maternal one, relegating that responsibility to Charlotte. And when the climax arrives, and Marlene starts to behave motherly toward Charlotte, Charlotte slips right in to accepting this affection. I found it odd because there was no resentment from Charlotte to her mother, no angst, anger, spite, nothing. Why it bothers me is not that I believe a daughter wouldn’t accept this consoling from her oft-absent mother, but because the story had laid out a very methodical cause and affect motivation for these two characters. It left me with a “meh” feeling because I wanted these characters to reconcile the way they did, but I didn’t feel it was authentic to the story that was laid out. Sticking the landing in a short story is tough, not matter what the story is about. I liked that these characters were messy, but not abnormal; just off a little. They cared about each other, but clearly wanted different things in their lives. It is complicated. As mother and daughter relationships can be, but also illuminating in showing how we become the people that we are, which is why these stories need to be told.