Katherine Mansfield Murry is regarded as one of the eminent New Zealand writers. She was born on the 14th day of October 1888 in the middle class of the colonial family. She wrote several short tales, narratives, and poems under the name Katherine Mansfield. In 1898, the First Mansfield Printed Stories appeared in the High School Magazine and the Wellington Girls’ High school magazine, which marked the beginning of success in his short stories and poetry work before encountering death in 1923 due to tuberculosis. This research paper will look at and analyze the short narratives of Katherine Mansfield, her life, her major works, and the critical reception of her short stories.
Nonetheless, Katherine Mansfield, primarily focused on the existing psychological differences and conflicts. Most significantly, her themes and styles also have a form of obliqueness of the narration that plays a vital role in exposing the impact of Anton Chekhov. In addition, Mansfield also had a significant influence on the development of short stories as a form of literature (Murphy and Walsh 80). In 1914, her first major works were published, the Rhythm and the Blue Review, edited by the British critic John Middleton Murry whom she later married after divorcing George Bowden in 1918 (Mansfield et al. 310). Plerude was one of the beautiful and evocative short stories about her family while living in New Zealand. Plreude and several other short stories were collected in Bliss. Nonetheless, Mansfield also did an exemplary job, achieving the height of her strengths and powers in the Garden party that included At the Bay, The Voyage, The Stranger, and Daughters of the Late Colonel, which was perceived as a subtle account of the genteel disappointments.
Nevertheless, her upbringing in New Zealand, and schooling in London acted as an inspiration to her Writing. It is clear that she prioritized and cherished her job as a writer, illustrating how much she loved the art of writing. This is why she became famous and well known through writing poems and several other journal entries (Kadhim 230). However, Mansfield’s writing style is primarily characterized by her bringing a third party or narrator who can travel in and out of the narrator’s mind. She primarily wrote about the character’s inner world and the struggles associated with women (Chakraborty 42). An illustration of this is in the short story of the “Garden Party”, where Laura only reflects on the themes of life and death and the existing differences in the social classes. Her writings are also characterized through rhetorical questions, especially in the story of “The Daughters of the Late Colonel”.
The fiction works of Katherine Mansfield are regarded as memorable mainly because they can single out and bring light. It also creates moments of being by promoting unity through playing together. However, according to Virginia Wolf, a literal critic, the surrounding environment is often perceived to be out of focus. As the reader gets an invitation towards contemplating the aloe in the short story of Prelude and the Bliss, the visual images are haunting and enigmatic like the paintings produced during her time with Rhythm magazine (Smith 102). In addition, Lee Garver, a critic, also stated that Mansfield’s writing brought heated discussions about labor organizations, women’s suffrage, and, most importantly, the state’s role in modern government (Chakraborty 42). He further argues that the cultural policies of Rhythm advocated and transformed the literary practice.
In conclusion, it is clear that Katherine Mansfield’s short primarily focused on the issues concerning gender roles and the general expectations to bring into light the crucial societal changes that happened back during her lifetime. However, she went ahead and wrote the short stories from both the men’s and women’s perspectives to illustrate that men and women felt annoyed when undermined or undervalued in any circumstance. In addition, her creative years were linked with loneliness, alienation, illness, and jealousy. All of this was a true reflection of the marital and family relationships of her middle-class characters.
Works Cited
Chakraborty, Indira. “Idea of” Liberation” And” Sisterhood” In Katherine Mansfield and Alice Walker’s Selected Short Stories.” Rendezvous of Repertoire, 2021, p. 42.
Kadhim, Rawaa Jawad. “Negative Treatment of Women in Selected Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield and Ernest Hemingway.” African Educational Research Journal, vol. 6, no.4, 2018, pp. 228-235.
Mansfield, Katherine Cumings, et al. “The Potential of Restorative Practices to Ameliorate Discipline Gaps: The Story of One High School’s Leadership Team.” Educational Administration Quarterly, vol. 54, no. 2, 2018, pp. 303-323.
Murphy, Terence Patrick, and Kelly S. Walsh. “Unreliable Third Person Narration? The Case of Katherine Mansfield.” Journal of Literary Semantics, vol. 46, no.1, 2017, pp. 67-85.
Smith, Angela. “Katherine Mansfield and” Rhythm.”” Journal of New Zealand Literature (JNZL), vol. 21, 2003, pp. 102-121.