6th July 2020

The Doll’s House

Text Style: Short Story

Written By: Katherine Mansfield

The three Burnell sisters get a lavish Doll House one day and although they are already popular at school become even more so. They are allowed to invite people two at a time to see it except for the two Kelvey sisters as their mother is a washerwoman and their father is rumored to be in prison. The youngest Burnell sister, Kezia, one day invites the Kelveys to see the house as they are walking past and are the only people to not have seen it. After getting caught the Kelveys run out terrified but grateful to have seen the doll house.

My first reaction was that it was a cute and innocent story about a little girl that just wants to make friends with people that she thinks are nice rather than who her parents think are nice. This is because Kezia would quite like to invite the Kelveys around but her parents say no and when she asks why they just respond with, “Run away Kezia; you know quite well why not.” because the social prejudices in the community seem to run so deep that the Kevelys that are in the working class are even disadvantaged in their learning as they have no respect. We see this later on how hard it is for anyone to put aside their social prejudices against the girls for something beyond their control. I found it interesting that it was in third person which looked at it from an outside perspective that saw everything. It took me a while to realise this, but a moment that I would have loved to know what people were thinking and feeling was when Lil Kevley was being bullied. This I think would have shown how they were discriminated against and maybe how Kezia viewed bullying people due to the class. However I think the importance of the third person was so that the readers were already prejudiced against them and instead saw them with fresh eyes for who they are rather than what they stand for.

Kezia is the youngest of the Burnell sisters and is the only one that acts kindly towards the Kelveys. We can see the difference in the sisters personality, as her oldest sister Isabel is bossy and arrogant where as Kezia is a lot shyer than her which unfortunately means that she is ignored by others. We see this when Isabel tells everyone at school about the doll house and when Kezia talks about the lamp she feels as if no one is paying attention. She probably isn’t concerned about class and appearance which we see when she goes outside rather than stay inside to help entertain a family guest. Because of this she invites the Kelveys to come and see the doll house as they are the only ones who haven’t. What she is unaware of is that she is subconsciously and in an innocent way getting rid of the social gap between the two and allows them all to act like children and be equal rather than divided by society’ prejudice against class.

A connection I noticed between Kezia and the Kevley sisters is that they don’t talk much or at all. Lil and Else might not talk because since they are seen as a low class they aren’t seen as important enough to have a voice and be heard by others as they appear insignificant. Kezia doesn’t talk much either as when she is in the presence of her oldest sister, it was Isabel that told everyone at school about the doll house and is just used to this fact that the oldest speaks before her and it has become part of her personality. Their lack of speech connects them and removes the social barrier that keeps them separate and shows them how similar they are without the social prejudice based on their class. The ending for their relationship was also interesting in how Aunt Beryl forces the Kevley’s out of the house and despite this neither girl seems very affected. Else then for the first time says, “I seen the little lamp.” which connects Else to Kevia. Both have seen the importance of the lamp and Else then recognises that she is no different than Kezia and she can see them as equals. Both have found themselves on the outside in some way, Else because she is poor, and Kezia because she doesn’t see class prejudice the same way as her sisters and family does.

The short story is called The Doll’s House and the doll house is symbolic to the Burnells and the upper class. Because the doll house is associated with the Burnells it helps show the difference between them and the others around them and separates the classes. Everyone clusters around them to see the doll house which is like how the Burnells think that people should surround them as they are the upper class and feel like they are more important than others. “She held quite a court under the huge pine trees at the side of the playground.” which shows that they are the people in charge and that their word is law which is to be followed. We see their self importance also when the narrator tells us that Mrs Burnell only sends her children to the local school because there is no other school available, “the school the Burnell children went to was not at all the kind of place their parents would have chosen if there had been any choice. But there was none. It was the only school for miles.”. The reason why the Kevley children are so affected by the doll house is because it meant that in some way that they were included with the others and feel more a part of the community and see themselves more as equal to the others rather than being different. This is why I think the title is perfect for the story as it explains what the story is about when you find out its meaning. The title is the removal of the gap between the social classes which is what the story’s purpose is, to show how innocent acts mean a lot more in society for removing gaps that people can’t necessarily control. The main subject and drive in the story is the doll house that the Burnells have.

The biggest message that this short story showed was class prejudice. It shows that class prejudice isn’t something you are born with and instead something you are taught, we know this because the Burnell family and the rest of the town show class prejudice except for Kezia who is young and sees life without corruption and tainted prejudices. We learn that through forming connections hope can be brewed as it just takes one person to show compassion and step outside of society and see people for who they are. Through Keiza forming a connection with Else and Lil we see the happiness it brings them that they aren’t complete social outcasts. This can be seen through the symbolism of the gate when she opens it up for the Kelveys to enter, “Kezia clambered back on the gate; she had made up her mind; she swung out.” which symbolises the social prejudices that the community has. When Kezia decides to open the gate to them, she is including them and not discriminating them like others in the story and instead viewing them as equals. Class prejudice is what parents teach to their children which carries on this degrading cycle that is hard to be broken. They teach their children that they are better than others due to the amount of wealth they have or their social status and is an excuse for them to have power over others. It is however their way of life, “But the line had to be drawn somewhere. It was drawn at the Kelveys. Many of the children, including the Burnells, were not allowed even to speak to them. They walked past the Kelveys with their heads in the air, and as they set the fashion in all matters of behaviour, the Kelveys were shunned by everyone. Even the teacher had a special voice for them, and a special smile for the other children when Lil Kelvey came up to her desk with a bunch of dreadfully common-looking flowers.”. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra tells Scout to be nice to Walter Cunnigham who is in a lower class than them but tells her not to play with him. This takes it a step up from this as they aren’t even allowed to talk or look at them because their parents have taught them that they are so far above the Kelveys that they are less than the dirt on the bottom of their shoes.

As young children we feel like we don’t have much influence in the world or control of what happens but we see that age doesn’t affect making a difference as no matter how small it is it can still greatly impact others lives. Greta Thunberg is an example of this, a 17 year old Sweedish girl who has gained worldwide recognition for her work on spreading awareness of climate change and is making a big difference. She started off doing school strikes for climate change to go to conferences and standing in front of the UN.

In Wanaka, I can recognise that I am well off and I know that I am not the wealthiest. As I am year 12 and we are allowed to wear mufti, I can see that some people subconsciously show off their wealth, whether this be through wearing expensive brands or in smaller cases wearing their sports hoodies or t-shirts. Wanaka is a sporty town but some families can’t afford to send their children off to all the sporting events that they want to take part in which shows the separation of classes that we have in Wanaka. Because it is such a small thing like what clothes we wear, not many people really think about it especially since we live in a reasonably wealthy area. For me my social class has never meant that I have felt left out and been seen only for my class by everyone as I’m a part of the upper middle class rather than being in the extreme ends. I feel terrible that not even the teachers can put their class behind them and teach the Kevley’s as equal instead of using a “special voice for them, and a special smile” and further implies the unfortunate prejudice two little girls suffered based on something that was out of their control. A significant moment for me was the end that after being chased out of Kezia’s house the Kevley’s could still find the beauty in the moment that they had where they didn’t have to worry about prejudice and instead marvel and what life could be like when class doesn’t dictate your friendship. For me personally I don’t think I see much of this direct class prejudice and I hope I never have to witness it which is why I think this was expressed on little girls and not adults or teenagers as the older you get the more you take on your parents views where as when you’re young you question everything which is why we should all keep a bit of our childlike wonder.

I would recommend this story as it is set in New Zealand and for some people might awaken them to see it in their own town. This showed me the impacts this prejudice has on children in isolating them from their peers, I think people in Wanaka are quite oblivious to this due to our bubble and living in a reasonably wealthy area. I’m sure people in Wanaka don’t think too much about this prejudice and are more knowledgeable on racism and sexism rather than classism just because I don’t think it’s addressed as much. Then in Wanaka, we hear about the families in the cities on the benefit system and I constantly hear the term “freeloader” to explain their reason for needing help. We don’t look at the person and the situations they are in and only look at their wealth and what they do to deserve it. Now more than ever, people are needing extra support due to the economic losses from COVID-19 but I wonder if people better off are going to feel the same way about those needing the help now? We know that prejudice is passed down through generations but what really opened my eyes to adults having prejudices was when Mrs Burnell told Kezia that the Kelveys aren’t worth the time just because, and that it’s public knowledge. Because the story is put in third person I think will allow readers to form their own opinions rather than be biased by the narrator, this means that every person who reads it will have different opinions on it and who they believed was right or wrong.

Join the conversation! 1 Comment

  1. LOW MERIT

    Nice one, Ashley. Continue working on developing your perspectives and considering others’.

    Also ensure, whilst you’re not assessed for this in this assessment, that your writing is cohesive and logical – your ideas tend to jump around in places.

    Reply

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