Supression in Katherin Mansfield's "Bliss" and "Prelude"

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Miriam Chew

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 Linda’s fatigued state. Linda’s smile and “half shut eyes” suggest a hidden empathy with the aloe that blooms “once a hundred years”, echoing Linda’s 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.

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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 ...

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