The Doll’s House

Katharine Mansfield
The theme of the Doll House
Katherine Mansfield's The Doll's House is primarily a tale
about how class shapes life in small village. The story
revolves around the daughters of two families, the wealthy
Burnells and the lower-class Kelveys. As rich insiders, the
Burnells do not associate with poor outsiders like the Kelveys.
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
The Doll’s House Characters :

Kezia Burnell
The youngest Burnell sister, Kezia is more independent and thoughtful
than both Isabel and Lottie

Isabel Burnell
The older sister of Lottie and Kezia, Isabel is bossy and wants to be the
first to brag about the doll’s house to the other girls at school. Isabel
cares about what others think.
Lottie Burnell
The middle Burnell daughter and sister to Isabel and Kezia.
Lil Kelvey
The older sister of Else and the daughter of the village’s “spry
washerwoman,” Lil is often mocked by the other girls at school.
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
Reading and discussion pg-205 & 206

Important W/M:
1. congealed- solidified by cooling *
2. prise - to force to get something open
3. slit- a long narrow opening
4. Sprawl- to sit or lie with one’s limbs spread out
5. traipse- to walk
6. nudge- a slight push *
7. whip off- to move something with a swift movement *

Describe the doll’s house.

 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
Else Kelvey
The younger sister of Lil, Else is a shy, quiet, and mysterious child. She wears
a long white dress that is too big for her and a pair of old boys’ boots.

Aunt Beryl
The aunt of Isabel, Lottie, and Kezia Burnell, Aunt Beryl is the sister of Mrs.
Burnell and lives with the family in their country home.

Lena Logan
A friend of Isabel’s and one of the first two girls invited to see the doll’s
house.
Emmie Cole
Another friend of Isabel’s who is invited with Lena Logan to see the doll’s
house first.
Willie Brent
Willie Brent writes a letter to Aunt Beryl threatening to come to her front
door if she doesn’t meet him in Pullman’s Bush later that night.
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
What is the message of the doll's house by Katherine
Mansfield?
The short story “The Doll's House,” written by Katherine
Mansfield in 1922 is based on the lives between rich and poor
families. This represents what a society is like based on how
wealthy you are and how you live.

What does the doll's house symbolize Mansfield?

The doll's house itself is a symbol of the Burnell family's
societal position. When it is brought into the Burnell courtyard,
it becomes, literally, a house within a house, a mirror of the
Burnell's home.
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
Why were the Kelvey girls excluded from other children in "The Doll's House"?

What does "The Doll's House" reveal about early 20th-century social class attitudes?
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield
What does the lamp symbolize in Katherine Mansfield's "T
he Doll's House"?
Explain.

The rich Burnell children receive a gift of a "perfect" doll house, with papered walls,
carpet, furniture, just the most amazing thing one has ever seen. The people in it,
though, the dolls, are stiff and look like they do not belong. That is because the upper
class society that the house represents is stiff. The snobbery of class structure "stinks" -
and that is why there is a smell to the house. The people and the smell are two negative
things about the house.
 The best thing about the house is the little lamp.
But what Kezia liked more than anything, what she liked frightfully, was the lamp. It
stood in the middle of the dining-room table, an exquisite little amber lamp with a
white globe.

The lamp is tiny, because there is a "tiny" bit of human kindness showing through the
ostentatious house. Nevertheless, the one person who shows kindness in this story,
Kezia, notices the lamp right away and decides that it is the best part of the house.
When the poor Kelvey girls are allowed to view the house, the youngest child ends the
story by saying "I seen the lamp." This means that she saw the kindness, even for just
a brief moment.

What does "The Doll's House" reveal about early 20th-cen

tury social class attitudes?
Q.What is a metaphor in the Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield?
Mansfield uses the doll's house itself as a metaphor for the world of the rich
upper class and creates a symbolic language surrounding it

A metaphor is a literary technique where one thing is compared to another by

stating they share the same qualities.
How does the doll's house symbolize materialism in
"The Doll's House"?
Quick answer:
The doll's house represents materialism because it is an expensive and extravagant
object owned by a rich family. The Burnell family values status and wealth above all else.
The Burnell daughters are not allowed to associate with the Kelvey girls, whose mother is
a washerwoman. The Kelveys are poor and, thus, to be avoided. For this reason, they
alone are denied the sight of the beautiful and luxurious doll's house.

What does the doll's house symbolize in Katherine Mansfie

ld's "The Doll's House"?
Explain.
The doll's house itself is a symbol of the Burnell family's societal position. When it is brought into
the Burnell courtyard, it becomes, literally, a house within a house, a mirror of the Burnell's home.

The rich Burnell children receive a gift of a "perfect" doll house, with papered
walls, carpet, furniture, just the most amazing thing one has ever seen. The
people in it, though, the dolls, are stiff and look like they do not belong. That is
because the upper class society that the house represents is stiff. The snobbery
 The Doll’s House
Katharine Mansfield

Explanation:

“The only two who stayed outside the ring were the two who
were always outside.”

“They burned to tell everybody, to describe, to-well-to boast

about their doll’s house before the school-bell rang.”

“She stepped into the yard and shooed them out as it they were
chickens.”