53 pages • 1-hour read
Only for the Week
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of emotional abuse, sexual content, and racism.
Love as the Means of Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
Bishop uses the destination wedding setting to take the novel’s characters out of their everyday routines, which allows Rome and Janelle to connect with one another. Rome’s intense focus on Janelle’s needs and happiness allows her to deepen her self-understanding and choose a more joyful life, balancing her work ethic with her personal happiness.
Much of Janelle’s arc focuses on learning to prioritize her own needs and desires. As the story begins, Janelle has little time for a personal life of her own, as her life is divided between her demanding job and her sister’s wedding expectations. However, reconnecting with Rome proves to be a turning point. Rome tells her during their first night together, “[W]hatever you’re thinking about, leave it be” (31), and she fully immerses herself in passionate sex, considering only what she will enjoy most. With Rome, Janelle is honest about both her physical and intellectual passions, explaining to him that she is an introvert who does not enjoy parties or large groups and sharing her love of romance novels. She later tells him that the trip has inspired her to expand her birthing center project to include more wellness services. When Janelle worries about realizing her vision, Rome expresses confidence in her, underscoring his role in her growing self-assurance. Ultimately, Janelle finds the courage and confidence to confront her mother and tell her sister the truth about Arnold’s assault. When Janelle tells Amerie, “I’m not willing to come in second anymore” (197), she firmly places her own needs first.
Janelle’s relationship with Rome is itself a vehicle for exploring her growing confidence, as she initially ends their relationship after a week, afraid of ruining their dynamic with her busy career. On their trip to the cenote, Janelle and Rome talk about their differing approaches to risk in a metaphor for their relationship. He tells her, “[T]aking a leap doesn’t scare me, J. I’m just waiting to see where you stand on that” (146). When Janelle leaps into the water, it thus signals that she is becoming more comfortable accepting the uncertainty relationships involve. When Janelle kisses Rome in front of the entire wedding reception and accepts his offer of a date when they return, it cements her emotional journey: Choosing Rome’s love for her ultimately means choosing love for herself.
The epilogues show Janelle continuing to grow in confidence as she launches her business and commits to a future with Rome. Through them, the novel underscores its basic message about love, suggesting that people do not need to arrive at romantic relationships fully formed; rather, those relationships can play an important role in their unfolding personal journeys.
The Pain of Dysfunctional Family and Sibling Rivalry
Janelle’s family relationships are at least as central to the narrative as her romance with Rome, as the novel documents Janelle’s gradual realization that her mother and sister do not truly respect her or see her as a person worthy of care. Although Janelle herself has previously diminished herself to keep the peace, her relationship with Rome, as well as the support of her friends, helps her break free of these patterns and choose respectful boundaries.
From the beginning of the novel, Janelle is immensely frustrated with her family. Her annoyance about their assumption that she has lingering feelings for Arnold introduces this frustration but also belies its deep roots, as the tension between Janelle and Amerie in particular predates either’s involvement with Arnold. As the novel progresses, Amerie continuously looks for ways to slight Janelle—for example, neglecting to tell Janelle to book a first-class seat with the other members of the wedding party—while also demanding that Janelle cater to her every whim. As Rome asks Janelle, “[Y]ou give her everything she asks for, but who’s taking care of your wants and needs?” (41). Nevertheless, Janelle largely avoids confrontation with Amerie, whom she loves and wants to make happy. This, however, is impossible, as the novel ultimately reveals that Amerie’s behavior has nothing to do with Janelle’s actions. Jealous of Janelle’s career success and insecure in her own relationship with Arnold, Amerie searches for ways to belittle Janelle, particularly in the eyes of their parents.
Janelle’s relationship with her parents therefore emerges as another point of conflict, though not solely due to her sister. When Janelle confronts her mother over her constant criticism and favoritism, it emerges that her mother’s treatment of Janelle is an attempt to feel needed; Janelle’s independence threatens her own sense of who she is as a mother, so she tries to manipulate her daughter into emotionally relying on her.
The novel thus examines the way that personal insecurities can spill over into familial relationships, resulting in dysfunction. However, while Janelle recognizes the source of these dynamics by the end of the novel, there is no simple solution for them. Setting boundaries with her mother and sister is a start. For instance, when her sister tries to disparage her relationship with Rome, Janelle calmly tells her sister that their own relationship is not worth endless pain, saying, “[W]hether you and mom believe I deserve it or not, I love me” (197). However, neither Janelle’s frankness nor Amerie’s subsequent apology is enough to mend the relationship, as Janelle has accepted that her family does not truly deserve her trust, much as she cares about them. The subsequent epilogues reveal that Janelle has remained distant from her mother and sister in favor of focusing on Rome, Dani, and Evie, implying that some relationships are too fractured to salvage fully without risking significant emotional harm to oneself.
Balancing Societal Expectations and Self-Worth
Only For The Week sees Janelle balancing many roles, including her professional goals as a doctor and her emotional and personal ones as a sister and maid of honor in Amerie’s wedding. While Rome respects her commitments and values, he also challenges Janelle to consider her value independent of these responsibilities. Ultimately, the novel advocates for a balanced approach to such responsibilities grounded in recognition of one’s intrinsic worth.
From the novel’s opening act, Janelle struggles with the social roles others assign to her. Her mother assumes that she is having emotional difficulty with Arnold and Amerie’s forthcoming marriage and believes she should be less involved in the planning, while Amerie herself expects Janelle to help with every wedding detail. The impossibility of satisfying both women’s expectations underscores how unrealistic and unfair their demands are. Despite the stress it causes her, however, Janelle tacitly accepts the role of dutiful sister, deciding that Amerie’s wedding is more important than her own feelings. This becomes her recurring mantra, as she accepts Amerie’s efforts to exclude her from lunch with their parents and hides her relationship with Rome for fear it will upset her family. Layered on top of this is Janelle’s commitment to her work as an OB-GYN and her sense of obligation to the broader Black community, which she prioritizes somewhat at the expense of her own well-being.
Rome’s perspective offers a counterpoint to Janelle’s, as he sees her full personality, independent of any familial, professional, or societal obligations. When he reflects on their first meeting, recalling both his physical attraction and her discussion of her career goals, he realizes, “[S]omething in Janelle’s soul spoke to me that night” (20). Though Rome, too, feels the weight of social obligation—he initially avoids Janelle out of loyalty to Arnold—he soon decides that he can no longer avoid his feelings, as “she’s worth it all” (29). Rome thus chooses emotional authenticity over abstract loyalty and encourages Janelle to do the same, which she ultimately does. Janelle chooses to attend the wedding for herself rather than out of any sense of social pressure and then distances herself from both her sister and mother. In doing so, Janelle sheds roles that only involve obligation, choosing partnership with Rome.
This is not to say that the novel entirely discounts the value of commitments to others. Janelle and Rome’s shared commitment to racial justice is an example: Rome realizes that talking to Janelle about her career goals and hopes for the birth center “drives [him] to keep striving to do [his] part for [their] city” (94). Likewise, Janelle’s relationship with Rome enables her to better execute her plans for the birth center, affirming the importance of her sense of duty to her community. It is significant, however, that the novel frames this activism as flowing out of Janelle and Rome’s bond with one another. Their personal lives and social responsibility are mutually reinforcing; the latter draws Janelle and Rome together, while the former strengthens them to pursue their broader obligations. Bishop thus offers a vision of relationships where obligations require sacrifice and compromise, but never self-negation.
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