Katherin Mansfield, 'Bliss': Romance, Realism or Modernism?

[postmod007]

Hi all,

I need your opinions on Catherine Mansfield story, 'Bliss'. I did enjoy reading the short story. Can someone give me a literary evaluation if the story falls under the convention of romance, realism, or modernism??? Many thanks.

[janesmith]

When I studied "Bliss" at postgraduate level it was presented under the genre of early modernism. The writing style and ambiguity inherent in the text certainly makes it appropriate to that category.

[postmod007]

Thank you janesmith. Just wonder if you can answer this. How can you best describe the elements of realism and romance in 'Bliss'? Thanks

[janesmith]

Thank you janesmith. Just wonder if you can answer this. How can you best describe the elements of realism and romance in 'Bliss'? Thanks


Not sure about the realism but with regard to 'romance' I would focus on the triangular nature of the relationships in the story. Mansfield's short stories often include these, which seems to make the subject of human relationships a far more complex and perhaps even 'realistic' depiction. Hope this helps.

[neilgee]

I think it's modernism, if you're putting KM into the same bracket as Joyce and Woolf which is loosely defined as the beginning of that era [okay maybe there were a couple of earlier ones] then I think Mansfield was as important as any of them.

I'm not usually a great fan of short stories as a genre but for Miss Manfield I make an exception. Such a shame she died so young, I think she could have surpassed them all.

[postmod007]

Many thanks guys for your input. I was able to demonstrate a good understanding on Mansfield's writing style and her ideas in her writing in my recent presentration. From other sources, I found that she was an exceptional short story writer and looked up to Chekov's works and Woolf was a fan of hers.