The Doll’s House (1922) by Katherine Mansfield

            Katherine Mansfield was born in New Zealand in 1888. She was a famous short story writer well known for her The Garden Party and A Cup of Tea. She passed away at the age of 34 in 1923, because of Tuberculosis.

            The Doll’s House is a short story about the class discrimination prevailing in the minds of children and adults. The story opens with Mrs Hay gifting a beautiful doll’s house to the Burnell children. The Burnells are wealthy people and they have three daughters namely Isabel, Lottie and Kezia.

            The school has all classes of students ranging from the richest to the poorest. The Kelveys are the poorest and nobody knows the whereabouts of Mr Kelvey. It is assumed that he is in the prison. Mrs Kelvey makes little income by working as a washerwoman in the neighbourhood. She borrows the excess curtain clothes and table clothes to stitch dresses for daughters Lil and Else. Lil is a plump girl with freckles and Else is a tiny girl who never speaks. The children and the teachers in the school do not speak with the little Kelveys.

            The Burnell children consider the doll’s house as an asset. So, they seek permission to their parents to show the doll’s house to the children in the school. Isabel, the eldest, is bossy and decides who should see the doll’s house first. So, all the girls in the school try to be nice with the Burnells to make sure that they are taken to see the house first.

            The youngest girl Kezia loves the lamp in the doll’s house, the best. She feels that, it looks like a real lamp. Few days have passed and all the girls in the school have seen the doll’s house, except the Kelveys. Kezia wishes to show the doll’s house even to the poor Kelveys.

One day, Kezia sees the little Kelveys crossing her house. So, she invites them to see the doll’s house. The girls refuse initially, but Kezia insists them to have a quick look. Lil and Else see the doll’s house and are just admiring it when Aunt Beryl chases the little girls away like chickens. She scolds Kezia for having invited the Kelveys.

The story comes to an end with Else exclaiming about the beauty of the lamp inside the doll’s house. The story shows how the younger generation are ready to accept others irrespective of differences. On the other hand, the rich adults try their best to instigate class consciousness in the minds of the younger generation. Thus, Katherine Mansfield portrays the attitude of the rich people in the society.