The Doll's House: Preface

The Doll’s House was written by Katherine Mansfield in the fading years of her life. It was written to address the social injustices she witnessed growing up in New Zealand, a society with a very strict and rigid social class system.

The Doll's House: Analysis

Introduction:

“The Doll's House” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, written in the year 1922. The story reveals the extent to which class consciousness has wreaked havoc in the social set up, so much so that the other children are discouraged from talking to the children from the lowest of the social classes. The story traces the problem of class consciousness through the character of Kezia, and her journey from innocence to the symbolic world of experience.

The Arrival of the Doll’s House in the Burnell family:

The Burnell children receive a doll’s house from Mrs Hay, who had come to stay with them. The children were so excited about the doll’s house, and they decide to show it off to their school friends. With the arrival of the doll's house, the Burnell children get so excited and greatly attracted to it. While the two older children admire the red carpet, the red chairs, and the gold frames of this richly decorated house, Kezia, the youngest of the girls, takes an interest in the rather simple lamp.

The Doll's House: Summary 01

 "The Doll's House" is one of the representative stories of Katherine Mansfield. Who is known for freshness of her approach and beautifully colored methods of presenting her ideas. The story basically gives us deep insight into the manners and behaviors of the aristocratic families. Here she ridicules the negative philosophy of social discrimination caused by uneven division of wealth. It beautifully brings out the emotional relationship between the three sisters and their friends. Moreover, it conveys an idea that parents attitude influence their children and deprive them of their natural goodness. In short in life-like manner Katherine tells us the hidden vices people belonging to higher society.

From the very outset of the story we see that the girls of Burnell's family received a beautiful doll's house from Mrs. Hay. It was a charming house having a drawing room, a dinning-room, a kitchen and two bedrooms. All the rooms had tables, chairs, beds and carpets.

The Doll's House: Summary 02

In the short story 'The Doll's House' by Katherine Mansfield, a main idea that was dealt with was the class distinction the existed in the 1900s, the period of when the story was based on. Through the story, the author illustrates the horrid and wickedness of the social hierarchy system. 

Class distinction was taken for granted in the town where the story was based, the social prejudice believes were past on to children from parents. The children mimic the attitudes of their parents towards those that belonged to the lower class, such as the Kelveys. "The Kelveys were shunned by everybody." In the first place, the upper class parents believed that their children were 'forced to mix together' as it was the 'only school for miles'. Snobbery began to reveal in the story. Although Kezia, the main character, attempts to break and challenge the social hierarchy, she was unsuccessful as Aunt Beryl saw her. "How dare you ask the little Kelveys into the courtyard!" The fact was, who ever breaks the conventional practices would be out-casted. 

The Doll's House

By Katherine Mansfield

When dear old Mrs. Hay went back to town after staying with the Burnells she sent the children a doll's house. It was so big that the carter and Pat carried it into the courtyard, and there it stayed, propped up on two wooden boxes beside the feed-room door. No harm could come of it; it was summer. And perhaps the smell of paint would have gone off by the time it had to be taken in. For, really, the smell of paint coming from that doll's house ("Sweet of old Mrs. Hay, of course; most sweet and generous!") -- but the smell of paint was quite enough to make any one seriously ill, in Aunt Beryl's opinion. Even before the sacking was taken off. And when it was . . .

There stood the doll's house, a dark, oily, spinach green, picked out with bright yellow. Its two solid little chimneys, glued on to the roof, were painted red and white, and the door, gleaming with yellow varnish, was like a little slab of toffee. Four windows, real windows, were divided into panes by a broad streak of green. There was actually a tiny porch, too, painted yellow, with big lumps of congealed paint hanging along the edge.