The Doll’s House, A master piece by K. Mansfield

“The Doll's House” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, written in the year 1922. The story reveals the extent to which class consciousness has wreaked havoc in the social set up, so much so that the other children are discouraged from talking to the children from the lowest of the social classes. The story traces the problem of class consciousness through the character of Kezia, and her journey from innocence to the symbolic world of experience.

This is a great story and apart from the old story of rich and poor you can find another interesting theme of rebel child in the story. In the story school is used as a small society representing the bigger one in real life where different kinds of people interact and live together with all their differences. However, there are always people who do not fit in their own society, "Kezia", because they do not think the same way as the people who are living there. The story attempts to tell us how different people react toward life, symbolized by the house itself. People look differently at life according to their expectations and intentions, major group of them are just trying to gain power and money in order other people around and show off, "Isabel". There is another group of people whom try to pave their way in life using the first group by keeping themselves close to them and flatter them as much as possible, "Lena Logan". The minor group can be those ones who believe in goodness of everything in and that gives them hope to continue living against all bad things that are out there in cruel world "Else". Katherine Mansfield writer tried to use show these things through children's eyes, maybe because children world is simpler than grownups world. Also, we can see that always older generation has effect on the younger generation and their way of thinking toward different subjects.

The characteristics of the story are;

·         Most of the things are explained in details like a report which gives readers opportunity to make a good and vivid image of events and characters in their minds.

·         The past tense usage also gives reader the sense that someone is telling a story. "She was a tiny wishbone of a child, with cropped hair and enormous solemn eyes" 

·         The text implies that the narrator is being very sympathetic about Else's situation and relate to this character more than the other ones.

·         The story ends by silence because it is in silence where one can sit and find the truth and save a happiness even if it only last just for a second.

Major Theme

Mansfield brings out the bitter truth that the discrimination between the wealthy ‘haves’ and the underprivileged ‘have nots’ was based solely on wealth and class.  The fact that “the line had to be drawn somewhere” speaks volumes to the social hierarchy prevalent in society. At the end of the story, Aunt Beryl shouts at Kezia, ‘How dare you ask the little Kelveys into the courtyard?’ in her furious voice, adding, ‘Run away, children, run away at once. And don’t come back again!’ “Burning with shame, shrinking together, the Kelvey sisters huddled through the big courtyard and squeezed through the white gate.”

Conclusion:

Through the portrayal of the predicament of the Kelveys, Mansfield brings out the class consciousness that was faithfully handed down by one generation to another, from parents to children and vice versa. Moreover, through the deft portrayal of the character of Kezia, Mansfield tries to challenge the existing social class consciousness which was wreaking havoc on the social fabric. All the above mentioned things make the story a masterpiece of Katherine Mansfield.

Anti Vivisection Elements in A dog's Tale

The Anti-vivisection movement was an ethical and political protestation which emerged in Europe, Britain and the United States in the nineteenth century against Vivisection. It was basically concerned with protecting animals from harmful experimentation that were held at that time. Vivisection is an experiment done on the living being, for the medical and research purposes. The experiment does not contains precision, there is always fear of errors. The scientists who did vivisection believed it as a token of welfare to the mankind. On the other hand, the supporters of the animal rights welfare lamented and stood against the hideous experiments that were being carried out. The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) kept on striving for the protection of animals by providing public awareness, educating, and by giving ideas about changing research methodologies. Mark Twain, was a major supporter of the American Anti- Vivisection society. He stood firmly against the cruelty done to animals and in support to it he wrote stories like “A Dog’s Tale”.

Mark Twain’s Story “A Dog’s Tale” is a tale that is told by a dog. The tale reveals the faithful nature of animals or pets like dogs and the unfaithful and irrational nature of human beings who do not care for anyone other than themselves. They just think selfishly about their material success and fame. The master of the dog in the story similar like the scientists who performed vivisection believed it as a kind of welfare they are serving to humanity in the name of inhumane acts of cruelty on animals. The master while talking about the vivisection with his colleagues for experimenting optics and whether a certain injury to the brain would introduce blindness or not, said “it’s far above instinct; it’s REASON, and many a man, privileged to be saved and go with you and me to a better world by right of its possession, has less of it that this quadruped that’s foreordained to perish”.

Mark Twain being the staunch supporter of antivivisection drew a painful picture of the aftereffects of the vivisection experimented by the master on his pets puppy. “One day those men came again, and said, now for the test, and they took the puppy to the laboratory, and I limped three-leggedly along, too, feeling proud, for any attention shown to the puppy was a pleasure to me, of course. They discussed and experimented, and then suddenly the puppy shrieked, and they set him on the floor, and he went staggering around, with his head all bloody…”Mark Twain lamented the vivisection in this story by narrating the story through a dog’s perspective making it more painful to read it and make the world overlook their decision of carrying out vivisection. The story clearly expresses the nobility of the dogs and the cruel nature of humans, as in the story the master after successfully experimenting on the puppy, clapped his hands and shouted:

"There, I've won—confess it! He's as blind as a bat!"

And they all said:

"It's so—you've proved your theory, and suffering humanity owes you a great debt from henceforth," and they crowded around him, and wrung his hand cordially and thankfully, and praised him.Twain represents the ironical comment on humanity and especially the supporters of vivisection that how much blinded they were by their material fame and appraisal that no one among them was able to realise the suffering they were causing to the humanity in the name of humanities well-being. Moving on in the story, we see that how painfully the puppy gets blind and finally dies after being experimented. The obedience of dog to his master and mother is pretty evident throughout the story.

The dog on one hand through his life never forget the lessons taught by her mother and on the other the humans like the master of the dog, forgot the lessons of humanity taught him in Church. Mark Twain throughout the story with the assistance of satire and irony disapproves and shows his resentment towards the vivisection that was prevalent in his society.

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