The Fly by Katherine Mansfield

The Fly by Katherine Mansfeld

Summary
The story Fly throws light on the fact that time is a great healer and
it conquers grief.
Mr. Woodifeld comes to see his ex-boss. e is retired and is a heart
!atient. e !raises the new setting and furniture of the o"ce. Then the
boss o#ers him whis$y. %fter drin$ing it& Mr. Woodifeld remembers
what he has forgotten. e tells the boss that his daughters ha'e 'isited
the gra'es of the boss(s as well as Mr. Woodsfeld(s son. %ctually& they
ha'e died in a war.
When Mr. Woodifeld has gone& the boss remembers his dead son. e
tries to ha'e the same feelings of grief as he felt on the day of his
death. owe'er& he fails. For the last try& he decides to go to the
!hotogra!h of his son& but a )y in an in$!ot attracts his attention. e
forgets all about his son.
e ta$es the )y out of the in$!ot and !uts it on a blotting !a!er. %s
soon as the )y is about to )y& he dro!s a dro! of in$ on it and en*oys its
struggle. %t last& the )y dies of dro!s of in$. The boss throws it away
and orders for a fresh blotting !a!er. Then he tries to remember what
he was thin$ing before attending to the )y. +t means he forgets his
dead son again.
1. What is the theme of the story Fly?
This is a quite established fact that the story The Fly is
about the conquest of time oer !rief.
,o doubt& this is quite established fact that the story The Fly is about
the conquest of time o'er grief. This is the frst theme of the story.
To show that time conquers grief the writer !resents two characters&
Mr. Woodifeld and his ex-boss. -oth of them lost their only sons six
years ago. +t was a long !eriod and it had healed u! their grief.
First& the writer tells us about the state of grief of Mr. Woodifeld. e
has forgotten e'erything. e is able to remember about the gra'e of
his some after drin$ing whis$y. e tal$s about his son and his gra'e&
but does not feel any !ang of grief. This clearly shows that the time
has made him forget his grief.
Then the writer tal$s about the state of grief of the boss. The -oss
belie'ed that time would not ma$e any di#erence to his grief. ,ow his
!resent state of grief is di#erent. %fter the de!arture of old Woodifeld&
he sits in the chair. e wants to feel the same !ang of grief that he
used to feel. The writer ex!resses his feelings 'ery beautifully. e
wanted& he intended& he arranged to wee!/. -ut no tears came yet.
This is the !resent condition of his grief. Time has conquered his grief.
e wants to feel the !ang of grief. %s a last try& he decides to get u!
and ha'e a loo$ at his son(s !hotogra!h. owe'er& a )y in the in$!ot
attracts his attention and he forgets about his son and the grief in a
moment. e starts dro!!ing dro!s of in$ on the )y to en*oy its
struggle. %fter the death of the )y& he tries to remember what he was
thin$ing& but cannot. This clearly shows that time has conquered his
grief. 01213
". What is the second theme of the story Fly?
#iscuss the $riter%s ie$s about life& death& and fate as
!ien in her story The Fly.
's (ies to $anton boys are $e to the !ods) they *ill us for
their s+ort. #iscuss.
What does the ,oss do to the (y at the end of the story and
$hat does the death of the (y si!nify to him?
The second theme of the story The Fly is %s )ies to wanton boys are
we to the gods4 they $ill us for their s!ort.
When we read the story carefully& we fnd that the )y in the story
symboli5es hel!lessness of man before fate. 6ust li$e the )y& man tries
hard and gets out of the gri! of death for the time being& but fate
ca!tures him again. Man has no !ower to defy fate and fall an easy
!rey to it. When we read the story& we fnd that the writer and all the
characters in the story stand for the )y.
To con'ey this idea& the writer tells a brief incident. % )y falls into an
in$!ot. The -oss sees it& !uts it on a blotting !a!er& and en*oys its
strength again. %t last& the )y dies of those dro!s of in$.
This incident of the )y highly symbolic. The writer herself died of T.-
that was incurable at that time. Many !eo!le were dying at that time.
7ater& man disco'ered a cure for the disease and thought that he had
esca!ed death and had defed fate. owe'er& *ust li$e the -oss& fate
dro!!ed another dro! 8 %+9:. ,ow many !eo!le are dying of it. ,ow it
is the last dro!. 6ust li$e the )y& !eo!le cannot sur'i'e it. We ho!e that
man will disco'er a cure for it. owe'er& who $nows what the next dro!
is li$e.
Therefore& we are *ust li$e the )y in the story and the -oss is *ust li$e a
god who $ills it *ust for his s!ort. This is the second theme of the story.
0;<=3
-. What does the (y stand for?
,rin! out the symbolism in the short story The Fly by
Katherine Mansfeld.
The )y in the story The Fly symboli5es hel!lessness of man before
fate. Man may try hard to esca!e his death& but he is not gi'en a
chance to esca!e. 6ust li$e the )y& man tries hard and gets out of the
gri! of death for the time being& but fate again ca!tures him. e has no
!ower to defy fate and fall an easy !rey to it. When we read the story&
we fnd that the writer and all the characters in the story stand for the
)y.
To con'ey this idea& the writer tells a brief incident. % )y falls into an
in$!ot. The boss sees it& !uts it on a blotting !a!er& and en*oys its
struggle. 6ust when the )y is able to esca!e death& dro!s a dro! of in$
onto the )y and en*oys its struggle again. %t last& the )y dies of those
dro!s of in$.
This incident of the )y is highly symbolic. The writer herself died of T. -
that was incurable at that time. Many !eo!le were dying at that time.
7ater& man disco'ered a cure for the disease. e thought that he had
esca!ed death and had defed fate. owe'er& *ust li$e the boss& fate
dro!!ed another dro! 8 the dro! of %+9:. ,ow many !eo!le are dying
of it. ,ow it is the last dro!. 6ust li$e the )y& !eo!le cannot sur'i'e it.
We ho!e that man will disco'er a cure for it. owe'er& who $nows what
the next dro! is li$e. 0;=13
.. #escribe the reaction of the ,oss $hen he comes to *no$
that Mr. Woodifeld%s dau!hters hae isited the !rae of
his son.
The reaction of the -oss is that of a father o'er the death of his only
son. owe'er& he does not ex!ress his grief before Mr. Woodifeld.
When Mr. Woodifeld has gone& he sits in his chair. e as$s Mr. Macey
that he will see nobody for half an hour. e wants to feel the same
!ang of grief. The writer describes his condition& e wanted& he
intended& he had arranged to wee!/ +t is a terrible shoc$ to him when
Mr. Woodifeld mentions the gra'e of his son. e imagines his son lying
in his gra'e. e groans& My son> owe'er& no tears come yet.
+n the !ast& in the frst months and e'en years after the death of his
son he could not control his tears. e thought that the time would
ne'er change the condition of his grief. e had de'elo!ed his business
for his son. ?'erybody li$ed his son. owe'er& he went to a war and
died. When he recei'ed a telegram about his death& he felt the whole
!lace crashing about his head.
,ow the situation is di#erent. :ix years ha'e !assed and he does not
feel the same !ang of grief. %s a last try& he decides to get u! and
ha'e a loo$ at his son(s !hotogra!h. e thin$s that by loo$ing at the
!hotogra!h he will feel the same !ang of grief as he used to feel.
owe'er& a )y in the in$!ot attracts his attention and he forgets about
his son in a moment. e starts en*oying the struggle of the )y by
dro!!ing dro!s of in$ on it. %fter the death of the )y& he tries to
remember what it was he thin$ing before attending to the )y& but
cannot. 0;@A3