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Foreshadowing
Genre
Explanation and Analysis:
“The Doll’s House” is a short story that belongs to the genre of Modernism. Modernist literature sought to capture the alienation and suffering present in society as industrialization, colonization, and global wars led to social and economic inequality. In addition to capturing these themes via characterization and plot, modernist writers started experimenting with the style of their prose and narration, using fragmented narrative styles and disjointed pacing to capture the fragmented and disjointed nature of modern life.
“The Doll’s House” has several modernist qualities. First, Mansfield focuses on the class dynamics between her characters and the suffering that inevitably results from rigid social hierarchies. While pre-modernist writers may have captured the dynamics between children in a more romantic light, Mansfield communicates in her story that children learn—and internalize—cruelty and classism from a very young age. She also employs episodic narration, weaving in and out of different days and times, as well as different narrative perspectives.
This story could also be considered somewhat autobiographical. Like the Burnell sisters in the story, Mansfield grew up in a big family in small-town New Zealand and attended a school with children from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. It is possible that this story was, in part, inspired by real-life events.
Related Themes:
