Bliss

The protagonist of this story, Bertha Young, is flitting through life, giddy as though she were a child, instead of a woman of thirty. She turns the corner of her street and is suddenly, unexpectedly overcome with "absolute bliss." Everything in her life is nearly perfect, she has it all - she is relatively young, she has a wonderful, loving husband who is also a great friend, a nice house and garden, trendy friends, and a beautiful baby. It is as if nothing could bring her down now. However, early in the story, Bertha suspects that if something seems too good to be true, it just may be. She smells the jonquils and thinks they may smell too strong...could she be too happy? The thought crosses her mind.

In this play with themes of marriage, adultery, love triangles, and dread, Mansfield uses plot structure, characterization, narrative point of view, setting, language, imagery and symbolism. Set in a suburb of London, Bliss is written from Bertha's point of view and largely takes place in Bertha's house at a dinner party. Mansfield brings her characters to life through subtle means rather than straight forward descriptions. Bertha is a very immature woman. Her husband compliments her soufflй and she reacts by nearly weeping "with child-like pleasure." She often has a hard time expressing what it is she is trying to say. "No, about the fiddle is not quite what I mean," and "It was part of his - well, not his nature, exactly, and certainly not his pose - his - something or other -..." are examples of her inability to effectively communicate her thoughts. Mansfield shows the reader how Bertha's poor communication is one of the symptoms of her immaturity.

Bertha's nemesis, Pearl Fulton, is Bertha's polar opposite. Mansfield paints her to be a cool, sophisticated, mysterious woman. In fact, Bertha is intrigued by her. "They had met at the club and Bertha had fallen in love with her, as she always did fall in love with beautiful women who had something strange about them." Bertha is mesmerized by Miss Fulton with her heavy eyelids and sleepy smile. When she asks in a "cool, sleepy voice" if Bertha has a garden, Bertha could only respond by sharing her garden with her.

Harry, Bertha's adulterous husband, is very clever and deceptive. He knows how to play with Bertha's naпve mind. When conversation turns to Miss Fulton,