I studied some of these stories at university and, although I couldn’t remember them having a big impact on me at the time, the fact that I could remember a lot of the stories when I re-read them (a significant number of years later) suggests that perhaps I was wrong. This time around I definitely appreciated them more, much of her writing is subtle and focuses on character rather than events. Mansfield can sum up a character in a few words:
“Miss Anderson rustled, rustled about the house like a dead leaf.”
She also has a trick of completely turning a story on its head in the space of a page, or even a paragraph – revealing something new about a character or introducing a small event which turns the story abruptly on its axis and means that nothing she writes is predictable.
Another thing I loved about Mansfield’s writing is her humour, one of my favourite stories is The Daughters of the Late Colonel in which Mansfield reveals the relationship of the protagonists to their recently deceased father:
“Josephine had had a moment of absolute terror at the cemetery, while the coffin was lowered, to think that she and Constantia had done this thing without asking his permission. What would father say when he found out? For he was bound to find out sooner or later. He always did.”
Other stories, like The Doll’s House and Miss Brill are just perfect examples in the moment of revelation that a short story can execute so well – how a chance encounter or overheard remark can change a character’s life. Just looking through the book now I am reminded of how many of the stories I really enjoyed and how many of them demonstrate the short story at its best. The protagonists are often couples, sometimes with a young family, but the settings range from New Zealand to Europe. There is a tremendous scope and variety even in stories where only a single, otherwise insignificant event occurs.
I chose Katherine Mansfield’s Collected Stories solely because I already owned the collection, which I’d purchased second-hand when I was a student, but as a result spent a very frustrating week reading a segment of unfinished stories which often finished mid-sentence. The openings were excellent, but I could never work out where a Katherine Mansfield story was heading and I really struggled with the collection at this point. But, unfinished stories aside, the rest of the Collected Stories were well worth taking the time over. I am so glad I revisited Mansfield later in life when I can appreciate her subtlety more than I did when I was younger.
A Literary Re-Education 