Structuralist Lens Strolling, By Katherine Mansfield

Based on the beginning of the story, many of the beliefs that readers will have will be centered on their status as upper class. In the opening scene, Laura notes how she felt just like a working girl. In examining this through a structuralist lens, it can be implied that all members of upper class status do not work because they are well off in life. It can be implied that no upper class members work or ever have worked and therefore do not know what working is like and can only assume how it is. From understanding their status and how they view others who are below them, it can be assumed that the upper class people are the people who throw parties; they have the ability to do so while members of other classes do not have the ability.
The text notes how “Wherever you looked there were couples strolling…” (Mansfield, 13). Based on how the story was written, is can be assumed that all couples are heterosexual. Since there is no other indication of how the couples are, it can be assumed that they are normal, heterosexual couples; it can also be implied through all the other relationships in the reading such as the mother and father of the children and also the man who died and his wife as both are expressing heterosexuality. The reading shows a preference for people to be heterosexual, as it is a strongly held cultural
However, interpellation can also lead us to have certain assumptions about the characters and their lives. Further along in the reading when the husband brings up the man who recently died, his wife is described as fidgeting almost nervously with her cup. Through this description, I (personally) was lead to believe that the wife possibly had a closer connection with the deceased. At first my assumption could be seen as farfetched but it was furthered when the wife decided to send a basket to the family as a way of giving to them in a time of need. She then refused to deliver it herself, as she couldn’t face the family for fear of being recognized or possibly confronted. Another instance in which interpellation could be used to understand the reading is at the very end of the story. In the ending, it is described how the man wouldn’t have cared for bands or parties as, “He was far from all those things” (Mansfield, 18) and how he seemed so beautiful and wonderful. From this, it could be interpellated that the less material possessions one has in life, you are able to enjoy the simplicities more and enjoy life beautifully without worry. Laura, who was surrounded and dependent upon material possessions and her status, showed how complicated her life was because of all the possessions that crowded the simplicities and caused her more