Supression in Katherin Mansfields Essay Example

Supression in Katherin Mansfields Essay Example Supression in Katherin Mansfields Essay Supression in Katherin Mansfields Essay Katherine Mansfield often presents the theme of suppression of women in her short stories. In Prelude and Bliss, she addresses the issue of women under suppression by providing insight to the reader into the minds of her characters, through the use of stream of consciousness, dialogue and other literary devices. The character of Linda in Prelude is presented to be suppressed in her marriage. She reveals to the reader in a stream of consciousness that for all her love and respect she hated him. Mansfield expresses her views on marriage in the context of her time and society in the aloe scene. Kezia observes the plant and her Mother simultaneously, allowing the reader to associate a connection between the withered cruel leaves of the plant and Lindas fatigued state. Lindas smile and half shut eyes suggest a hidden empathy with the aloe that blooms once a hundred years, echoing Lindas withdrawal from the world. The reader soon realizes that the male dominance of Stanley in her marriage has imposed a psychological suppression on her, reflected in her description of the aloe as fat, swelling, indicative of her fear of pregnancy and bearing children. Bertha Young in Bliss is also suppressed in her role as a mother. She stands like a poor little girl in front of the rich little girl with a doll before the nanny, despite having authority as lady of the house. The restraints imposed upon her in her day to day living is made apparent when she is unable to express fully her love for her daughter, loving her baby in parts from the neck as she bent to her exquisite toes instead of loving her whole. In her role as a wife, she is unable to maintain a conversation with her husband over the phone, incapable of sharing her bliss and replies to her husband with Entendu, attempting to speak in a language that is not genuinely hers. Similarly, the character of Beryl in Prelude is suppressed. She mentions her two selves in a stream of consciousness, alluding to her lack of personal identity, resulting from the suppression of being unmarried and isolated in the country. Beryl moans that I am never my real self for a moment and foresees herself as an awful frump in a year or two, reflecting her inner turmoil on being isolated and forced to only experience romance with her imaginary dark and slender young man. Ironically, Beryl is suppressed by being unmarried, while her sister Linda is suppressed by her awkwardness in her role as a mother and wife. Just as Beryl is never her real self, Bertha is never acquires her real opinion, being dependant on borrowed phrases such as Why be given a body if you have to keep it shut up in a case like a rare, rare fiddle? She compares her body to a fiddle entrapped in a case in a simile, alluding to her emotional isolation and suppression, despite convincing herself to be overcome by a feeling of bliss Her refusal to acknowledge reality is made evident when she hardly dared to look into the cold mirror, choosing to live in her ignorant blissful state over recognizing the truth. Continuing on the subject of music, Bertha declares twice that it is a pity that nobody plays the piano. Metaphorically, Berthas body is the musical instrument of the piano and fiddle, and the music she wishes to hear is in fact the intimacy between her and her husband, relating to her suppressed state within her marriage. The ideas of fear and suppression link the characters Kezia and Linda in Prelude. Kezias encounter with IT is described when she explores the empty house when the day flickered out and the night came. Suddenly she was still frightened. But IT was just behind her, waiting. Likewise, Linda encounter with THEY in her bedroom draws parallels with her daughters fear of IT, relating to Lindas fear of the bearing children and Stanleys deep desire to have a son. They were there, they knew she was frightened. The similarities between IT and THEY creates a connection between Kezia and Linda, allowing the reader to question if Kezia will learn from her mothers suppression or if she would follow and become suppressed herself in the future. The anonymity of the pronouns IT and THEY, also create a sense of oppression, both mother and daughter unable to identify clearly the source of their fears. Katherine Mansfield also presents ideas of how socially dictated patterns affect Berthas perception of Bliss, in turn suppressing her unknowingly. Mansfield satirizes the artistic middle class of her time through the portrayal of Berthas modern, thrilling friends. At the dinner party, the dialogue between the guests allows the reader to conclude that Bertha lives in a mundane society, where topics such as the dreadful experience of driving through eternity in a timeless taxi, or how tomato soup is so dreadfully eternal is often discussed. The absurd conversations between Berthas guests who she considers to be so keen on social questions and modern reflect the restraints of living in her superficial and mundane society. The abrupt ending of Bliss with the pear tree standing as lovely as ever and still compels the reader to question whether Bertha breaks free from her suppression upon realizing the emptiness of her marriage and life, reflecting Mansfields ideas that people dont always learn from their realizations. By providing her readers insight into the minds of her characters, Mansfield explores the theme of suppression of women in her short stories. By the end of her short stories Prelude and Bliss, she encourages her readers to contemplate on the nature of bliss, fear, and ultimately suppression.