The Doll's House

Using the stream of consciousness technique, New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield (1888—1923) became one of the early twentieth century’s most famous short story writers. Though she was born into...

The doll's house of which the Burnell children are so proud, considering it "a perfect, perfect little house," is a false representation of upper-class wealth, breeding, and splendor because it is...

In the short story "The Doll's House," Katherine Mansfield gives the reader a glimpse into the unfair treatment of the different social classes in her native New Zealand from the perspective of...

The characters in the short story "The Doll's House" are the following: Lil Kelvey- the older of the two Kelvey sister. She is often seen in a protective role, as Else Kelvey always follows her...

Isabel, Lottie, and Kezia Burnell are excited to receive a new doll's house as a gift. The sisters carefully inspect the incredible detailing in the house, such as its door which gleams with yellow...

Else's smile could symbolize the hope she feels of finally overcoming the stigma attached to her family. Else and Lil stand outside their society, which is even noted in the physical proximity they...

In Mansfield's "The Doll's House," the Burnell children are not allowed to associate with the Kelvey girls. The Burnell girls are members of the upper-class and a family friend (Mrs. Hay) has sent...

One of the themes in this short story centers around the idea that every person ultimately craves inclusion. The Kelvey girls are excluded from the social circles at school because of their...

Kezia does not agree with the rest of her family about the Kelveys; instead, she regards the girls as individuals with feelings and interests that are much like hers. When the Burnell girls receive...

The story "The Doll's House" by Katherine Mansfield, shows several instances in which the girls at the school are quite cruel and humiliating to the Kelvey sisters. The first evidence of this is...

Katherine Mansfield's story "The Doll's House" has an omniscient narrator who enters the minds of different characters at various points in the story. With this technique, Mansfield intently...

The oil lamp in the story "The Doll's House" by Katherine Mansfield, is the object entirely catches the attention of Kezia Burnell: A privileged young girl who receives the gift of a doll's house...

As the younger Burnell child, Kezia knows how it feels to be excluded from decisions and acceptance. While the older Isabel is allowed to determine all the rules governing the display of the...

The two social class descriptions that are present in Katherine Mansfield's short story "The Doll's House" are the upper class, which is represented by the Burnell sisters, and the very poor, lower...

The Burnell children see the doll's house primarily as a status symbol, an opportunity for them to show off how incredibly wealthy they are. Even at a young age, children are acutely conscious of...

For me, the most important cultural contexts to keep in mind when reading Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House is the patriarchal norms and standards concerning female agency and the institution of...

In the story "The Doll's House," by Katherine Mansfield, the reactions of the school teacher toward the Kelvey sisters essentially describe someone who has very little compassion toward those who...

The Kelvey girls are from the lower class, whereas the other girls in the story are from families of a higher social status. It is important to note the setting of this short story is a small...

"The Doll's House", a story by Katherine Mansfield, treats the topic of social injustice and class distinction under the scope of two different children, Kezia and Else, reacting to something that...

Katherine Mansfield's short story "The Doll's House" shows that people will always gravitate toward those who are considered social or financial "betters". The Burnell girls, who are rich and come...

The setting of the story "The Doll's House" is very influential to the plot. The story is set in New Zealand during the early 1920s, when the country was still a British colony. As such, the...

Most definitely. I cannot think of any work of literature that does not actually have some form of conflict that drives it, and this excellent short story by Mansfield is no exception. As with many...

In Katherine Mansfield's short story "The Doll's House", the character of aunt Beryl epitomizes the classicist nature of a society where the comforts and luxuries of the upper classes are...

The doll's house is used in the story to symbolize the kind of lifestyle that the poor will never be able to enjoy, and of which they will only ever catch a tiny glimpse. Society puts a premium on...

In Katherine Mansfield’s story, the characterization of the two mothers is primarily indirect. Mrs. Burnell is not described physically at all. We learn about her through a few phrases and from the...

First, there's Mrs. Hay (#1), the woman who stayed with the Burnell family and so sent the doll's house as a thank you gift to them. There is also someone named Pat (#2) who helps carry the new...

Central to understanding this excellent short story is that Kezia and Else are part of the same society, but also come from two different worlds in terms of their class. This is why the Burnells...

Kezia stands out from her two sisters, Isabel and Lottie, in many ways. We notice early in the story that she possesses a deeper sense of aesthetic susceptibility in that her immediate focal point...

The story centres round the three Burnell sisters - Isabel, Lottie and Kezia. They are given a large doll´s house, which for those times was a marvellous, luxurious toy that delights them,...

Katherine Mansfield's short story about the unfairness of social classicism, "The Doll's House", features as main characters two poor and socially disenfranchised little sisters, named Lil Kelvey...

Else's statement at the end of the story was "I seen the little lamp." Told in a colloquial way, the phrase refers to the fact that she, Else, had the opportunity to look at the miniature lamp that...

Kezia and Else, despite coming from very different backgrounds, both seem to possess an innocence that other children have grown out of as a result of their understanding of how adults feel. For...

Katherine Mansfield's story "The Doll's House" depicts life in two separate and distant social classes: The very wealthy rich and the very unfortunate poor coexisting as children in a school. The...

When people suffer from social alienation, as it is in the case of some cultural groups for example, the observable tendency is that those who have been alienated will come together, using their...

In Katherine Mansfield's story "The Doll's House", the characters are divided into two groups: those who are innocent to social class and status, and those who are not. Since the prevalent theme in...

This excellent story is as much about social division as it is about anything else. The doll's house, which becomes the status symbol for the Burnell girls, emphasises that, even amongst children,...

Katherine Mansfield's story is as relevant today as it was at the time of her writing. For, it is still true that socio-economic class buys many things, but it cannot purchase happiness and human...

The Kelvey sisters are round, as the author provides a fair amount of background information about them. They are shunned by everyone in the class, and the narrator notes that even the teacher...

At first sight, the doll house dazed the Kelveys, especially Lil, who was utterly amazed. “There it is,” said Kezia. There was a pause. Lil breathed loudly, almost snorted; our Else was still as a...

It is interesting to compare Kezia with her sisters and how they treat the Doll's House. It is clear that for her sisters, the Doll's House becomes a valuable "chip" with which they can play and...

The lamp in the story “The Doll’s House, ” by Katherine Mansfield, stands out in the eyes of Kezia as something so unique that it is worthy of telling everyone about it. In turn, Kezia’s words...

Aunt Beryl comes from the Burnell family. This family is of a certain income level, much higher than the Kelveys. Aunt Beryl believes that class distinctions are important. She doesn't think the...

In “The Doll’s House,” Kezia Burnell is the youngest of the Burnell girls. Aware of the luxury of the doll house they receive, she finds it enchanting. She is particularly fascinated by a miniature...

The upper-class Burnells consider the fact that the father of the Kelvey children is absent and rumored to be in prison the most "awful" thing about them. In Katherine Mansfield's story, upper- and...

The difference in Kezia's character from her two sisters focuses on the way that she, unlike her older two sisters, has yet to learn of the sharp social divisions that divide her society from...

There are several reasons why the Kelvey girls are shunned by the other children. First, Lil and Else Kelvey are the daughters of a "washerwoman," someone who goes from house to house each day,...

When the Burnell children are opening up their doll's house, Mansfield portrays the wonder and perspective of children uncovering a new and mysterious miniature world. When the children open the...

In Katherine Mansfield's short story "The Doll's House," the Burnell children attend the only school in the neighborhood. As there is no other school for miles, this small community school has an...

Aunt Beryl's thoughts regarding the new doll house are noted in the first paragraph: For, really, the smell of paint coming from that doll’s house (“Sweet of old Mrs. Hay, of course; most sweet...

The author disapproves of snobbery and exclusion of others simply because of their social class. Like many other short stories by Katherine Mansfield, "The Doll's House" has a narrative in which...