‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield
This article examines Katherine Mansfield’s notion of self by considering two of her short stories, ‘Prelude’ (1918) and ‘At the bay’ (1922), as well as her biographical writing. It links her desire to acknowledge “the secret self” with her inclination to examine and contest existing notions of the...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of the Free State
2007-12-01
|
| Series: | Acta Academica |
| Online Access: | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1148 |
| _version_ | 1797270996768522240 |
|---|---|
| author | Candice Kent |
| author_facet | Candice Kent |
| author_sort | Candice Kent |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This article examines Katherine Mansfield’s notion of self by considering two of her short stories, ‘Prelude’ (1918) and ‘At the bay’ (1922), as well as her biographical writing. It links her desire to acknowledge “the secret self” with her inclination to examine and contest existing notions of the self and its expression in fiction. Mansfield was concerned with exploring the self at its least inhibited, and for this reason the article focuses on works that draw on childhood reminiscences. It also discusses Mansfield’s innovative use of time to suggest the properties of memory. It explores how Mansfield’s art differed from the conventions and traditions of Edwardian fiction, as well as how she was influenced by, and stood in relation to contemporaries with whom she corresponded, such as Virginia Woolf and D H Lawrence, thus also placing her in a modernist context. It also examines how Freud’s concept of the unconscious functions in Mansfield’s fiction, drawing on Kristeva’s writing for this analysis. It argues that Mansfield’s achievement of her distinctive voice as a writer is interwoven with her exploration of ideas of self.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:44:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abb4b8bec44a4e8fb0505444c2856420 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0587-2405 2415-0479 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T02:13:09Z |
| publishDate | 2007-12-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Academica |
| spelling | doaj.art-abb4b8bec44a4e8fb0505444c28564202024-03-07T11:12:42ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Academica0587-24052415-04792007-12-01393‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine MansfieldCandice Kent This article examines Katherine Mansfield’s notion of self by considering two of her short stories, ‘Prelude’ (1918) and ‘At the bay’ (1922), as well as her biographical writing. It links her desire to acknowledge “the secret self” with her inclination to examine and contest existing notions of the self and its expression in fiction. Mansfield was concerned with exploring the self at its least inhibited, and for this reason the article focuses on works that draw on childhood reminiscences. It also discusses Mansfield’s innovative use of time to suggest the properties of memory. It explores how Mansfield’s art differed from the conventions and traditions of Edwardian fiction, as well as how she was influenced by, and stood in relation to contemporaries with whom she corresponded, such as Virginia Woolf and D H Lawrence, thus also placing her in a modernist context. It also examines how Freud’s concept of the unconscious functions in Mansfield’s fiction, drawing on Kristeva’s writing for this analysis. It argues that Mansfield’s achievement of her distinctive voice as a writer is interwoven with her exploration of ideas of self. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1148 |
| spellingShingle | Candice Kent ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield Acta Academica |
| title | ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield |
| title_full | ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield |
| title_fullStr | ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield |
| title_short | ‘The secret self’: time, memory and childhood in two short stories by Katherine Mansfield |
| title_sort | the secret self time memory and childhood in two short stories by katherine mansfield |
| url | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1148 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT candicekent thesecretselftimememoryandchildhoodintwoshortstoriesbykatherinemansfield |