A true original
New Zealand Listener|February 25-March 3 2023
An enthusiastic delve into 10 of Katherine Mansfield’s stories and her life when writing them underlines a tragic loss to literature. by CKSTEAD
CK STEAD
A true original

ALL SORTS OF LIVES: Katherine Mansfi eld and the art of risking everything, by Claire Harman (Chatto & Windus, $37)

This is a vividly written, enthusiastic account of Katherine Mansfield’s life and work, taking, chronologically, 10 of her short stories and her life around the time each was written.

It analyses well what it was that made her fiction “modernist”, how fresh and, above all, original it was in its time, and how much a writer like Virginia Woolf owed to it. In addition to Woolf, it puts Mansfi eld into the company, and the literary context, of her other major contemporaries: TS Eliot, James Joyce, DH Lawrence and Bertrand Russell. What it makes clear, not for the first time but in painful detail, is what a loss to literature in English her death in 1923 was, and how close she came to writing fiction that would have confirmed the enormous talent revealed in her letters and journals.

Mansfield was never entirely satisfied with even the best of her stories. She felt she was always on the brink of something better – and I think she was. Harman, on the other hand, is one of those “Mansfi eld can do no wrong” critics, whose enthusiasms are slightly suspect because they are so seldom qualified by doubts or reservations.

She is, for example, uncomprehending of Woolf reading the story “Bliss” and throwing it down saying, “She’s done for.” Harman is accurate in her analysis of how that story works, how it moves in and out of Bertha’s consciousness while keeping a safe distance and avoiding total emotional identification.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView all
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024