Short Story Analysis of `Marriag­e a la Mode” by Katherin­e Mansfiel­d

Short Story Analysis of “Marriage a la Mode” by Katherine Mansfield

1.      Analyze in detail how William, Isabel and Isabel´s friends (particularly Moira Morrison) are being characterized and what kind of characters they represent (according to E.M. Foster´s classifications).

2.      Carefully analyze and discuss the semantic meaning of setting in the story.

3.      What narrative situation can be identified according to Stanzel´s narratological model? How would you describe the narrative situation using the categories and terminology of Genette (focalization & narration)?

4.      What technique of representing consciousness is being employed?

1.      Characterization and classification of the characters according to E.M.Foster

The protagonist William first seems to be really ‘flat’ but then turns out to be a ‘round’ character. He is an individual rather than a stereotypical character. The main character is a regular working man in London that comes home for the weekend, being a very caring father that brings gifts for his children (l.5 implicit authorial characterization).

William is implicit figural characterized by his anxious behavior and critical thoughts about others (l.32). He is a very profound and shaken character that has countless imaginary meetings (l.57). When William comes to talk about Isabel he often associates her with the word ‘new’, which shows that William isn´t quite happy with the new way of life his wife is pursuing (ll. 16, 24, 67, 287 explicit and implicit figural characterizations).

By the way he is imagining his wife Isabel’s reactions towards him, it is shown that there are many discrepancies between the married couple (ll.67-78 implicit figural self-characterizations). The way they say goodbye shows the gap in their relationship (ll.108-115). This can also be seen in the way their common surname isn’t mentioned throughout the whole story even so the family names of Isabel’s friends are mentioned.

William seems to be a strong character that sticks to his convictions and doesn´t join the group of Isabel’s friends (l.154 implicit authorial characterization). When William is first very reluctant, reserved and ignoring the raillery, comments and behavior of Isabel’s friends (l.187), in the end he reveals his disapproval by writing Isabel a letter (ll. 220, 236) and saying he doesn´t want to be a burden to her.

Williams’s wife is a mostly static and ‘flat’ character that does not really undergo any significant development. A clear point against this though is that at the end of the story she surprisingly reconsiders her behavior and her friend’s reactions towards William (l.269), which makes her a little ‘round’, but then decides to stick to her friends.

Isabel is a very stuffy (l.14), prestigious (l.20), bossy and selfish person who even demands her children’s gifts for herself (l.142 implicit figural self-characterization). Isabel seems to be a weaker person than William that is easily influenced by her friend’s opinion. It seems that she is even devoting herself to her friends to adapt to the group (ll.127, 195 implicit figural s.....[Volltext lesen]

The landscape that is referred to when leaving the station is described with dark trees, a pale sky shone parched grass and a sandy road. William is the only one that actually crosses the borders by train, because he works in London but comes to the suburban at the weekend to visit his family. At the event of William crossing the border, his heavy unpleasant mood is described with a dull gnawing in his breast and also referred to with the description of the train station and the landscape.  Isabel’s and her friend’s usual residence is the house, the garden and the bathing place.

When William is crossing the border he kind of breaks into Isabel’s world and is considered a burden and an outsider that doesn´t belong there, which causes a lot of conflicts. William represents London as a hardworking man, whereas the suburban is represented by Isabel and her friends as a lazy and lavish place. When William is back in London and Isabel is receiving a letter from him, it seems that her connection to London and William is changing her consciousness and opinion towards her friends and her lifestyle, but when she is remembered of being in the suburban by her friend’s calling, she suppresses and overrules that.

The title of the story and the mostly hidden feelings of the characters show that the marriage of William and Isabel doesn´t base on an ordinary relationship but a fashionable one, where the wife is rather seeking for social prestige than for her husband’s love.

3. Narrative situation according to Stanzel and Genette

According to Stanzel’s narratological model, the story mostly exhibits a figural narrative situation but sometimes also changes into the first-person narrative situation. Whereas the figural narrative situation contains a dimly ‘neutral story-telling medium’ and ‘reflector figure’, the first person narrative situation contains an ‘experiencing I’ with a few monologues and dialogues.

The third person narrative situation is mostly displayed through Williams’s consciousness. The main narrators William and Isabel are part of the story, whereas the first part of the story is exclusively told from Williams’s point of view and his perception of his marriage with memory flashbacks and rapid sliding of his mind and the last part is told exclusively from Isabel’s point of view and her thoughtlessness behavior.

Even though the story is centered on William, we get a perspective from Isabel’s angle to judge the truth of Williams’s feelings. The “I-narrators” are also characters, which mean that the realms of identity are identical. The “I-narrators” are an “I-as-protagonist” rather than an “I-as-witness” because they are the main characters. There is a limited point of view, implying that the narrator can neither shift into the other character’s inner worlds, nor read their minds o.....

In terms of duration, the multiple-focalization varies throughout the different characters, which is mostly limited to William and Isabel. The limited point of view implies a focalization from without. The characters only perceive their thoughts from within. Despite the internal focalization, there are hardly any shifts of action into the inner world of the protagonist William.

This makes it hard for the reader to feel with the protagonist and get to know what he is actually thinking.

Overall it can be talked about a story written in a very modern style, with many shifts in the narrative.

4. Technique of representing consciousness

The techniques of the use of stream-of-consciousness are indirect interior monologue and free indirect style. The structure of external objective events is almost entirely dissolved in the story and replaced by the continual activity of the characters and their depiction of sensory impressions. The story mostly concentrates on the characters response to events rather than their description.

Mostly everything is told by the dramatic reflection of the characters. It seems that the inner life of the characters is so important that the purpose of the external action is to show rather than cause their emotional reactions. There is no omniscience narrator, which leaves the reader with a limited point of view, which means that the progress and the end of the story are being unknown.

There is a direct representation of subjective awareness and consciousness. The inner perspective mostly dominates. The reader is mostly experiencing or viewing the story (viewing frame) rather than being told what the events actually are. It often contains a scenic display like dialogues, direct presentation of thoughts, free indirect speech a.....

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