“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.
No comments:
Post a Comment