The Sense of an Ending in Katherine Mansfield's MARRIAGE À LA MODE

Martin comments on Katherine Mansfield's Marriage a la Mode. He observes that Mansfield provided textual clues that indicate the protagonist's choice is decisive. Mansfield, though, has left one final clue to solidify the reader's sense that the story ends on a hopeless note, despite...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Explicator Vol. 69; no. 4; pp. 159 - 162
Main Author Martin, W. Todd
Format Magazine Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Taylor & Francis Group 01.10.2011
Taylor & Francis Inc
Subjects
"Forsaken Merman"
"Marriage à la Mode"
Arnold, Matthew (1822-1888)
Comparative analysis
Isabel
Katherine Mansfield
Literary criticism
Mansfield, Katherine (1888-1923)
marriage
Matthew Arnold
Poetry
Reading
relationships
Short stories
Writers
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Summary:Martin comments on Katherine Mansfield's Marriage a la Mode. He observes that Mansfield provided textual clues that indicate the protagonist's choice is decisive. Mansfield, though, has left one final clue to solidify the reader's sense that the story ends on a hopeless note, despite the protagonist telling herself otherwise. Early in the story, Isabel denies that she has changed, and she has an opportunity in the end to demonstrate this. But she ultimately chooses a life of frivolity. Compared to Matthew Arnold's poem, her protagonist has chosen another type of conformity: a life reflecting that hers has become just another "marriage a la mode."
ISSN:0014-4940
1939-926X
DOI:10.1080/00144940.2011.631059