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Katherine Mansfield: Bliss

“Bliss” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield published in August 1918 in the English Review. It recounts a day in the life of Bertha Young, a thirty-year-old woman who experiences overwhelming happiness and a deep sense of fulfillment. While organizing a dinner party at home, her joy is reflected in the small details of everyday life: her tenderness towards her daughter, her satisfaction with her marriage, and the beauty of her garden, where a pear tree in bloom seems to symbolize her state of mind. However, among the gestures and glances of the guests, an unexpected detail threatens to alter her harmony.

Katherine Mansfield: A Day in Bed

I wish I had not got a cold,The wind is big and wild,I wish that I was very old,Not just a little child. Somehow the day is very longJust keeping here, alone;I do not like the big wind’s song,He’s growling for a bone He’s like an awful dog we hadWho used to creep aroundAnd snatch … Read more

Katherine Mansfield: The Wind Blows

SUDDENLY — dreadfully — she wakes up. What has happened? Something dreadful has happened. No — nothing has happened. It is only the wind shaking the house, rattling the windows, banging a piece of iron on the roof and making her bed tremble. Leaves flutter past the window, up and away; down in the avenue … Read more

Katherine Mansfield: The Singing Lesson

With despair—cold, sharp despair—buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife, Miss Meadows, in cap and gown and carrying a little baton, trod the cold corridors that led to the music hall. Girls of all ages, rosy from the air, and bubbling over with that gleeful excitement that comes from running to school on … Read more

Katherine Mansfield: Poison

The post was very late. When we came back from our walk after lunch it still had not arrived. “Pas encore, Madame,” sang Annette, scurrying back to her cooking. We carried our parcels into the dining-room. The table was laid. As always, the sight of the table laid for two — for two people only … Read more