Katherine Mansfield's Presentation of Happiness 'Bliss' and 'The Little Governess' are two short stories written by Katherine Mansfield at the time of World War 1 (1914-18)

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Katherine Mansfield's Presentation of Happiness

'Bliss' and 'The Little Governess' are two short stories written by Katherine Mansfield at the time of World War 1 (1914-18). They were taken from the book 'Bliss And Other Stories' and both depict young woman, one single and one married, who are victims of deception.

Both characters in these two stories believe themselves to be safe. In Bliss Bertha accounts her happiness to the fact that she 'doesn't have to worry about money'; she believes that being financially stable is happiness. She has 'modern, thrilling friends' but she treats them as material possessions. In this way Katherine Mansfield presents happiness as superficial. Bertha believes that having a cosy family life, and being respected in social circles promotes a sense of security. She has the protection of a good husband, and a 'satisfactory house and garden'. However, this is all self-deception, as it does not make her safe. On the contrary, her happiness blinds her, and makes her naïve. She has no inkling of the fact that her husband is having an affair.

In 'The Little Governess' she feels safe with the old man, and with this security she feels 'frightfully happy'. But her perception of happiness is different to what the reader sees. 'A flush licked the old man's cheeks; the old man's perception of her is very different to hers of him. Her happiness makes her vulnerable, and completely innocent of the old man's sexual agenda.

This state of happiness that Bertha and The Little Governess enjoy is still real, even if it turns out to have blinded them both from reality. Katherine Mansfield suggests in both stories that innocence is bliss. Because they are ignorant of the truth does not make it necessarily unreal bliss. The fact that Bertha and the Little Governess discover that they have been horribly misled does not cancel out the happiness that they felt earlier. Bertha feels sexual excitement, which is stimulated by Miss Fulton's 'touch of that cool arm'. Sexual feelings are uncorked and she describes it as a 'fire of bliss'. This bliss that Bertha feels is strong, as she is innocent of what lies ahead of her. Therefore the deception does not take away the experience of the happiness, but destroy her innocence. But deception can ruin future happiness as with 'The Little Governess'; she can never again feel happiness towards an old person, therefore with the benefit of experience she realizes her past happiness was false. So happiness for her does exist, but it is transient, it cannot last forever.
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At the time in which 'Bliss and Other Stories' was published, there was no substantial schooling available to women, and they often lead sheltered lives. This meant that women were dangerously ignorant of the ways of the world. In the Little Governess, the lady at the Governess Bureau understands this and advises her to be a 'woman of the world', and that it's 'better to mistrust people'. This shows that young women were not educated about the ways in which a woman should act, and were thoroughly naïve about people's thoughts and deeper intentions. In 'Bliss' Bertha does ...

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