The fat woman's joke

About “The fat woman's joke”

Esther Sussman, a woman who had lived in a flat in Earls Court, recounts her life and the events leading to her departure from her marriage to her friend Phyllis. After her husband suggested they go on a diet to combat middle-age flab, the lack of food led her to see her life as pointless, prompting her to leave home and live in her flat, where she read science fiction and watched television, ultimately challenging her friend Phyllis's belief that her happiness depends on her size.