Katherine Mansfield‘s family memoirs were collected in Bliss (1920). Bliss is a modernist short story told through (raccontata attraverso) the eyes of Bertha, its main character, and follows (seguono) a day in her life. On this particular day, Bertha has invited friends for dinner where her guests (ospiti) reveal their vanity by their small talk (chiaccherate). At the end of the story, when the dinner guests leave, Bertha’s happiness breaks (viene distrutta) as (in quanto) she discovers that her husband is betraying her (la sta tradendo) with her best friend, Pearl. Another great achievement (successo) of Mrs. Mansfield was Garden Party (1922), which she wrote during the final stages (fasi) of her illness (malattia). It is about an extravagan garden-party arranged (organizzato) on a beautiful day. Laura, the daughter of the party’s hostess (colei che organizza la festa), hears of the accidental death of a young neighbourhood (vicino di casa), a working-class man, Mr. Scott. Laura wants to cancel the party, but her mother refuses so she goes to see the dead man in the bedroom where he is lying (giace) with a basket (cestino) full of sweets (dolci) and cakes (torte) from the party. Mansfield’s books reflect (riflettono) her loneliness (solitudine), illness (malattia), jealousy, alienation. Her short stories are also notable (notevoli) for their use of stream of consciousness (flusso di coscienza). Her works were greatly influenced by the warm humanity and attention to details (dettagli) of Anton Chekhov. Among her literary friends were Aldous Huxley, Virginia Woolf, and D.H. Lawrence.
2012-11-18