Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds

Najah Mahmi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

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Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds

Najah Mahmi^*

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 12, Issue 6)

Received: 17 September 2024 Accepted: 11 October 2024 Published: 20 November 2024

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Abstract

In “Loneliness,” [1910] as in most of her writings, Katherine Mansfield voices out the darkness and coldness of her nights, because of an extreme feeling of loneliness; thus the silence of life. A great degree of sorrow is explicitly expressed hroughout her short story writing journey in which she expresses her estrangement towards life and agony due to her loneliness and permanent hanger for love. With an impressionistic style, polished satire, and an explicit feminist tone, Katherine Mansfield’s characters debate the human existence within the barriers of emptiness and affliction, usually resulted in alienated disproportioned grotesques who are struggling for survival. They are neither alive nor dead. In this context, this paper highlights Mansfield’s representation of traumatic love in male-female relationships. The main focus is on the painful love politics that characterize couples’ lives inside and outside the marital institution, and the way they shape and reshape the modern human experience. Through questioning Mansfield’s incongruous couples’ interactions, the paper envisions the couple’s life question in relation to men and women’s conceptualisations of love that abide by their advanced civilised past, present, and future, amid dark shadows of beginnings and endings which shape its psychological and social poisoning features. The scrutiny portrays the painful life of Katherine Mansfield’s lost miserable characters who endure hollowness and emotional withdrawal, suggesting a comparative study of “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day,” [1917] “Poison” [1920] and “A Married Man’s Story” [1923] written by Katherine Mansfield.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 12, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
Page(s)	156-162
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Beginnings, Endings, Hollowness, Poison, Withdrawal, Modern

References

[1]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Bliss.” Mansfield. Bliss and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1918.
[2]	Mansfield, Katherine. “The Garden Party.” The Garden Party and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1922.
[3]	Mansfield, Kathernie. “Je Ne Parle Pas Français.” Hampstead, Heron Press, 1919.
[4]	Mansfield, Katherine. Katherine Mansfield’s Letters to John Middleton Murry, 1913-1922, edited by John Middleton Murry. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1951.
[5]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Life of MA Parker.” Mansfield. The Garden Party and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1922.
[6]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Loneliness.” Mansfield. Poems. London, Constable, 1923.
[7]	Mansfield, Katherine. “A Married Man’s Story.” Mansfield. The Doves’ Nest and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1923.
[8]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Miss Brill.” The Garden Party and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1920.
[9]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Poison.” Mansfield. Something Childish and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1924.
[10]	Mansfield, Katheriine. “Prelude.”. Mansfield. Bliss and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1920.
[11]	Mansfield, Katherine. “Mr. Reginald Peacock’s Day.” Mansfield. Bliss and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1920.
[12]	Mansfield, Kathernie, “The Tiredness of Rosabell.” The Katherine Mansfield Society. 1908. https://www.katherinemansfieldsociety.org/archive/www.katherinemansfieldsociety.org/assets/KM-Stories/THE-TIREDNESS-OF-ROSABELL1908.pdf
[13]	Mansfield, Katherine. The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.
[14]	Mansfield, Katherine. “The Wind Blows.” Mansfield. Bliss and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1915.
[15]	Murry, John Middleton. Between Two Worlds. New York, Julian Messner, Inc., 1936.

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APA Style

Mahmi, N. (2024). Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 12(6), 156-162. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

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Mahmi, N. Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2024, 12(6), 156-162. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

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Mahmi N. Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. Int J Lit Arts. 2024;12(6):156-162. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12,
  author = {Najah Mahmi},
  title = {Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds
},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {12},
  number = {6},
  pages = {156-162},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20241206.12},
  abstract = {In “Loneliness,” [1910] as in most of her writings, Katherine Mansfield voices out the darkness and coldness of her nights, because of an extreme feeling of loneliness; thus the silence of life. A great degree of sorrow is explicitly expressed hroughout her short story writing journey in which she expresses her estrangement towards life and agony due to her loneliness and permanent hanger for love. With an impressionistic style, polished satire, and an explicit feminist tone, Katherine Mansfield’s characters debate the human existence within the barriers of emptiness and affliction, usually resulted in alienated disproportioned grotesques who are struggling for survival. They are neither alive nor dead. In this context, this paper highlights Mansfield’s representation of traumatic love in male-female relationships. The main focus is on the painful love politics that characterize couples’ lives inside and outside the marital institution, and the way they shape and reshape the modern human experience. Through questioning Mansfield’s incongruous couples’ interactions, the paper envisions the couple’s life question in relation to men and women’s conceptualisations of love that abide by their advanced civilised past, present, and future, amid dark shadows of beginnings and endings which shape its psychological and social poisoning features. The scrutiny portrays the painful life of Katherine Mansfield’s lost miserable characters who endure hollowness and emotional withdrawal, suggesting a comparative study of “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day,” [1917] “Poison” [1920] and “A Married Man’s Story” [1923] written by Katherine Mansfield.
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds

AU  - Najah Mahmi
Y1  - 2024/11/20
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 156
EP  - 162
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
AB  - In “Loneliness,” [1910] as in most of her writings, Katherine Mansfield voices out the darkness and coldness of her nights, because of an extreme feeling of loneliness; thus the silence of life. A great degree of sorrow is explicitly expressed hroughout her short story writing journey in which she expresses her estrangement towards life and agony due to her loneliness and permanent hanger for love. With an impressionistic style, polished satire, and an explicit feminist tone, Katherine Mansfield’s characters debate the human existence within the barriers of emptiness and affliction, usually resulted in alienated disproportioned grotesques who are struggling for survival. They are neither alive nor dead. In this context, this paper highlights Mansfield’s representation of traumatic love in male-female relationships. The main focus is on the painful love politics that characterize couples’ lives inside and outside the marital institution, and the way they shape and reshape the modern human experience. Through questioning Mansfield’s incongruous couples’ interactions, the paper envisions the couple’s life question in relation to men and women’s conceptualisations of love that abide by their advanced civilised past, present, and future, amid dark shadows of beginnings and endings which shape its psychological and social poisoning features. The scrutiny portrays the painful life of Katherine Mansfield’s lost miserable characters who endure hollowness and emotional withdrawal, suggesting a comparative study of “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day,” [1917] “Poison” [1920] and “A Married Man’s Story” [1923] written by Katherine Mansfield.

VL  - 12
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Najah Mahmi

Department of English, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0002-0453-546X

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APA Style

Mahmi, N. (2024). Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 12(6), 156-162. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Mahmi, N. Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2024, 12(6), 156-162. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Mahmi N. Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds. Int J Lit Arts. 2024;12(6):156-162. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12,
  author = {Najah Mahmi},
  title = {Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds
},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {12},
  number = {6},
  pages = {156-162},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20241206.12},
  abstract = {In “Loneliness,” [1910] as in most of her writings, Katherine Mansfield voices out the darkness and coldness of her nights, because of an extreme feeling of loneliness; thus the silence of life. A great degree of sorrow is explicitly expressed hroughout her short story writing journey in which she expresses her estrangement towards life and agony due to her loneliness and permanent hanger for love. With an impressionistic style, polished satire, and an explicit feminist tone, Katherine Mansfield’s characters debate the human existence within the barriers of emptiness and affliction, usually resulted in alienated disproportioned grotesques who are struggling for survival. They are neither alive nor dead. In this context, this paper highlights Mansfield’s representation of traumatic love in male-female relationships. The main focus is on the painful love politics that characterize couples’ lives inside and outside the marital institution, and the way they shape and reshape the modern human experience. Through questioning Mansfield’s incongruous couples’ interactions, the paper envisions the couple’s life question in relation to men and women’s conceptualisations of love that abide by their advanced civilised past, present, and future, amid dark shadows of beginnings and endings which shape its psychological and social poisoning features. The scrutiny portrays the painful life of Katherine Mansfield’s lost miserable characters who endure hollowness and emotional withdrawal, suggesting a comparative study of “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day,” [1917] “Poison” [1920] and “A Married Man’s Story” [1923] written by Katherine Mansfield.
},
 year = {2024}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Katherine Mansfield & the Trauma of Fractured Intimate Bonds

AU  - Najah Mahmi
Y1  - 2024/11/20
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 156
EP  - 162
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241206.12
AB  - In “Loneliness,” [1910] as in most of her writings, Katherine Mansfield voices out the darkness and coldness of her nights, because of an extreme feeling of loneliness; thus the silence of life. A great degree of sorrow is explicitly expressed hroughout her short story writing journey in which she expresses her estrangement towards life and agony due to her loneliness and permanent hanger for love. With an impressionistic style, polished satire, and an explicit feminist tone, Katherine Mansfield’s characters debate the human existence within the barriers of emptiness and affliction, usually resulted in alienated disproportioned grotesques who are struggling for survival. They are neither alive nor dead. In this context, this paper highlights Mansfield’s representation of traumatic love in male-female relationships. The main focus is on the painful love politics that characterize couples’ lives inside and outside the marital institution, and the way they shape and reshape the modern human experience. Through questioning Mansfield’s incongruous couples’ interactions, the paper envisions the couple’s life question in relation to men and women’s conceptualisations of love that abide by their advanced civilised past, present, and future, amid dark shadows of beginnings and endings which shape its psychological and social poisoning features. The scrutiny portrays the painful life of Katherine Mansfield’s lost miserable characters who endure hollowness and emotional withdrawal, suggesting a comparative study of “Mr Reginald Peacock’s Day,” [1917] “Poison” [1920] and “A Married Man’s Story” [1923] written by Katherine Mansfield.

VL  - 12
IS  - 6
ER  -

Copy | Download