hayeong lee  professor.bradley clissold  engl 2001  03 april 2014  
why do people lose subjectivity?

katherine mansfield’s “the lady’s maid,” it is a story communicates the theme of ellen’s frustrated desire for independence through which three literary elements. first, this story has a first-person point of view

through using this point of view, the author can achieve a sense of familiarity to the readers, and the narrator’s limited knowledge lets readers notice the difference between the reality and the narrator’s perception. second, it doesn’t follow the real time-order

“the lady’s maid” uses dramatic monologue that uses flashback which helps that we can get to know why she cannot break away from the lady. third, at the middle of story, there are symbols that represent the relationship of the lady and the narrator, and the narrator’s state of mind

it makes the reader consider deeper facts that the narrator cannot recognize.

ellen, who is narrator of this story, tells her life with dramatic monologue. “i’ve just given my lady her tea

i put the kettle on when she kneels down… (36)” we all know that she uses “i” when she narrates the story. it makes the reader be familiar because the reader knows that the narrator is telling about herself

but it also calls for unreliability towards the narrator because the narrator’s view can be limited. the limited point of view causes the dramatic irony

because of difference between the narrator’s view and the reader’s view, readers already recognize the lady is very selfish even try to her maid’s marriage. but ellen does not notice

“and so cheerful, you know, madam, never thinking about herself. it made me feel worse than ever

i began to wonder…then she dropped her handkerchief and began to stoop down pick it up herself-a thing she never did. i cried, running to stop her (40)” “i shall have to begin to practice (40)” everyone knows that the lady is telling a lie

to try stopping ellen’s marriage, she acts like poor, cheating ellen. all readers get to know she deceives her except for ellen

(so dramatic irony which means that the character unknowingly acts in a way we recognize to be inappropriate happens in this situation. )

“the lady’s maid” starts with ellen’s daily life, and goes back events that happened before the time. she goes back three events which are her young days with her grandfather, took young ladies riding on the donkeys and the time that she was supposed to marry harry

when she flashbacks her young days with her grandfather, it explains her background why she has the dependency in her life. for her, the time with her grandfather was a frightening experience to her   (이하 생략)