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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM63008
Volume:
10 |
5 |
May 2026
Pages:
1-9
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
Department of English
AJK College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, India
Katherine Mansfield remains one of the foremost modernist writers whose short fiction transformed the literary representation of women and childhood. Her stories frequently focus upon girls and young women whose emotional experiences reveal the psychological tensions underlying family, class, gender, and social expectations. Unlike traditional literary depictions that idealized girlhood as passive innocence, Mansfield presents young female characters as intellectually perceptive and emotionally complex individuals. Through subtle narrative techniques and psychological realism, she explores the processes through which girls become aware of social inequality, emotional isolation, and the restrictive structures of patriarchal society. This article examines the representation of female consciousness in Katherine Mansfield’s short fiction with particular emphasis on The Doll’s House, Prelude, At the Bay, Her First Ball, and The Garden Party. The study investigates how Mansfield portrays girlhood as a transitional and psychologically fragmented stage marked by emotional awakening and identity formation. Drawing upon feminist criticism and modernist literary theory, the article argues that Mansfield revolutionized short fiction by foregrounding the subjective experiences of girls and by exposing the emotional complexities hidden beneath ordinary domestic life. The article further explores Mansfield’s use of symbolism, stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and fragmented narration to represent the inner lives of female characters. Through these techniques, Mansfield critiques class prejudice, patriarchal control, and emotional repression while simultaneously emphasizing female sensitivity, imagination, and individuality. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that Mansfield’s stories continue to resonate because they capture universal experiences of vulnerability, awakening, and self-discovery.
KEYWORDS
Katherine Mansfield transformed the literary representation of girls through her psychological insight and modernist narrative techniques. Her short stories portray girlhood as a complex period of emotional awakening, identity formation, and social awareness. Through characters such as Kezia, Laura, and Leila, Mansfield explores themes of class consciousness, emotional alienation, and female individuality. Her stories reveal how girls perceive social inequality and struggle against restrictive expectations. Mansfield’s psychological realism and symbolic richness continue to influence modern literature. By presenting girls as intellectually and emotionally complex individuals, she challenged conventional representations of femininity and childhood. Ultimately, Mansfield’s fiction remains significant because it captures the subtle emotional experiences that shape human identity. Her stories about girls continue to resonate with readers through their exploration of consciousness, vulnerability, and personal awakening.
1. Alpers, Antony. The Life of Katherine Mansfield. Oxford University Press, 1980. 2. Fullbrook, Kate. Katherine Mansfield. Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1986. 3. Hanson, Clare. Katherine Mansfield. Macmillan, 1981. 4. Kaplan, Sydney Janet. Katherine Mansfield and the Origins of Modernist Fiction. Cornell University Press, 1991. 5. Mansfield, Katherine. The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield. Penguin Classics, 2007. 6. Murry, John Middleton. Katherine Mansfield and Other Literary Studies. Constable, 1959. 7. Smith, Angela. Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf: A Public of Two. Oxford University Press, 1999. 8. Trotter, David. The English Novel in History 1895–1920. Routledge, 1993. 9. Wallace, Jeff. Beginning Modernism. Manchester University Press, 1998. 10. Woolf, Virginia. The Common Reader. Hogarth Press, 1925.
Publication Date
5/11/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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