Previous
Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of “The Doll’s House” shifts from lighthearted to tense over the course of the story. It opens with the three Burnell girls receiving a doll house in the mail and becoming enamored of it—it has wallpaper in the rooms and a “perfect” little lamp. The story remains upbeat as the girls go to school and tell their friends about the beauty of the house.
The story increases in tension when the narrator explains how these girls, who come from a wealthy family, invite everyone over to see the doll house except for the lower-class Else and Lil Kelvey, who all of the other children shun. The tension increases even more as Kezia Burnell pushes back against this unjust ostracism and secretly invites the Kelveys to her home to see the doll house, only for them to be cast out by Aunt Beryl.
Like in many modernist stories, the tension does not entirely resolve at the end of “The Doll’s House.” That said, there is a subtle mood shift in the final lines of the story, as seen here:
Lil’s cheeks were still burning; she took off the hat with the quill and held it on her knee. Dreamily they looked over the hay paddocks, past the creek, to the group of wattles where Logan’s cows stood waiting to be milked. What were their thoughts?
Presently our Else nudged up close to her sister. But now she had forgotten the cross lady. She put out a finger and stroked her sister’s quill; she smiled her rare smile.
“I seen the little lamp,” she said, softly.
Then both were silent once more.
While readers might expect the story to end on a sour note given that Else and Lil have just been kicked out of the Burnell home on the basis of their socioeconomic status, Mansfield lets them have a moment of joyful vindication, as seen in Else’s simple statement, “I seen the little lamp.” Though the final sentence implies that the joy is short-lived—the girls reenter a stoic sort of silence, after all—this subtle final mood shift offers readers a small dose of hope.
Related Themes:
