Prose Appreciation "The Fly" By Katherine Mansfield
Prose Appreciation – “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield
“The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield is a short story which focuses on the trials and tribulations faced by those who lost relatives in World War One. Many who lost family and friends in the war struggled for years with grief, while others accepted the shortcomings and managed to overcome it. Everyone faced their own challenges, and everyone overcame them different ways, or in some cases not at all.
Katherine Mansfield is one of many people who lost relatives in the war. She herself lost her brother in WW1 like Mr. Woodifield and the boss did. She wrote this story because she felt like she was a victim of helplessness and darkness, struggling with grief and also struggling with the Tuberculosis treatment she was going through at the time. This relates to the story because the boss felt like he was on his own after the death of his son, “Ever since his birth the boss had worked at building up this business for him; it had no other meaning if it was not for the boy.” He felt like he had no reason to do anything, like he was helpless and in the dark.
The theme ‘time is a great healer’ fits these thoughts, because no matter what the boss might think, over time he is slowly getting over the death of his son even though he said “Time, he declared then, he had told everybody, could make no difference.” Six years have passed since the death of their sons, and Mr. Woodifield has overcome his grief, and has forgotten about his son, needing the help of whisky to remember that his daughters visited his grave. The boss however, believes that he is still wrought with grief, when in fact he has overcome it. He can no longer cry when his son is mentioned, and he can no longer use the photograph on the wall to force the emotions of grief on him. He forgets about his son, and that indicates that perhaps he is over his grief more than he would like to think. Time has healed him, and made it so he can no longer grieve as he used
“The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield is a short story which focuses on the trials and tribulations faced by those who lost relatives in World War One. Many who lost family and friends in the war struggled for years with grief, while others accepted the shortcomings and managed to overcome it. Everyone faced their own challenges, and everyone overcame them different ways, or in some cases not at all.
Katherine Mansfield is one of many people who lost relatives in the war. She herself lost her brother in WW1 like Mr. Woodifield and the boss did. She wrote this story because she felt like she was a victim of helplessness and darkness, struggling with grief and also struggling with the Tuberculosis treatment she was going through at the time. This relates to the story because the boss felt like he was on his own after the death of his son, “Ever since his birth the boss had worked at building up this business for him; it had no other meaning if it was not for the boy.” He felt like he had no reason to do anything, like he was helpless and in the dark.
The theme ‘time is a great healer’ fits these thoughts, because no matter what the boss might think, over time he is slowly getting over the death of his son even though he said “Time, he declared then, he had told everybody, could make no difference.” Six years have passed since the death of their sons, and Mr. Woodifield has overcome his grief, and has forgotten about his son, needing the help of whisky to remember that his daughters visited his grave. The boss however, believes that he is still wrought with grief, when in fact he has overcome it. He can no longer cry when his son is mentioned, and he can no longer use the photograph on the wall to force the emotions of grief on him. He forgets about his son, and that indicates that perhaps he is over his grief more than he would like to think. Time has healed him, and made it so he can no longer grieve as he used