The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Spaces of Being: Finding a Sense of Place in Katherine Mansfield’s “Prelude” and “Bliss”

Author

  • Elin Hafström

Summary, in English

This essay examines how the characters experience a sense of place in two of Katherine Mansfield’s modernist short stories, “Prelude” (1918) and “Bliss” (1918). Geographers have during the past century developed and problematized the relation between space, place, and human beings. The concepts of space and place are means for us to better understand our place in the world by relating ourselves to other people as well as our surroundings. We experience a sense of place when we can find a sense of security in a physical place, in the company of another person, or by the attachment to a material object. The analysis of Mansfield’s “Prelude” is conducted on an individual level in order to differentiate how the characters form a sense of place in shared spaces. It focuses on how children and adults, and men and women form a sense of place in relation to being inside or outside the home. The analysis of “Bliss” focuses primarily on one character and concerns a societal sense of place, i.e. how a sense of place can be a place in society and not just a place in something that is familiar.

Department/s

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Document type

Student publication for Master's degree (one year)

Topic

  • Languages and Literatures

Supervisor

  • Annika Lindskog