Analisys of the Short Story "taking the Veil"

Фатима Мамсирова. Магистратура I год. Английская филология.

The analysis of the short story “Taking the veil”

The short story “Taking the veil” by Katherine Mansfield is a story about a young naïve girl who unfortunately falls in love with a stranger and decides to take the veil for the sake of love.

The title of the story has two meanings. The first refers to the decision of the heroine to take the veil sacrificing herself for” true” love. The second refers to its subtext. To take the veil means to reveal the true about yourself. The author presents to a reader the unique opportunity to have a glimpse of the emotional experience and inner struggle of the main character.

The plot of the story is almost inner monologue with bare outline of facts accompanied by a faith-fully reproduced flow of the character’s emotions and ideas and interspersed with ironic commentaries of the author.

In the very beginning of the story we can see that the main heroine Edna is opposed to the outside world. The environment is drawn in a succession of details by means of enumeration and asyndeton (sound of pianos, fluttering trees, whistling boys, barking dog and people in a hurry). And this externally mundane environment contrasts the inner struggle of Edna. The world is streaming around her while she remains visibly static. Edna prefers to circle around the same thoughts following the same path.

The set of contextually antonymic epithets “tragic” – “beautiful”, “unhappy” – “pretty” that the author bestows upon Edna suggests the extreme naiveté of the heroine. The epithet “tragic” is used with the verb “to look” not “to be” which contributes to the idea that Edna’s suffering from unrequited love is only superficial. The author mocks that appearance-oriented by adding that contrast to her appearance.

A dream to be the heroine of tragedy greatly appeals to Edna. She likes to fancy herself in the eye of a storm. The influence of Greek tragedies is great on the mind of Edna. She lives foreboding evil at every corner. Every object around her assumes a mystic character. For example, the black binder of the book provides a gloomy note for her. At the edge of making the most important decision in her life she hears the singing of chorus (Ah-me, sounded the deep tones of the nun, and Ah-me, they were echoed) like in Greek tragedies.

The author’s reference to theatre, performance and acting allows her not only to parody the melodramatic nature of Edna but also place a condemnatory view onto the fact that she genuinely believes that her only two options are marriage and if that was not possible she would ‘Join a convent’.

The author describes the moment of Edna falling in love in tragic and comic colors. Every gesture, motion, looks and actions are very important as parts of “breathtaking” event for Edna. She notices every detail which the author underlines by means of detachment (He had tried – ah! how painfully, how pitifully! – to grope his way to the window; but-fallen-in-love) and climax (It was – really, it was absolutely – oh, the most – it was simply – in fact). Every event grows in importance owing to the way Edna treats it as nothing like that ever happened to her before. Her yearning for strong passion becomes obvious for a reader. She reaches the zenith of her misery very quickly which is conveyed through the logical climax (dreadful sensation of hopeless misery, despair, agony and wretchedness). It seems as if she is in hurry to get through all of this. She reminds a thirsty wanderer who finally got the chance to taste water. But swiftness of Edna’s feelings makes the reader to cast doubt on the sincerity of them. One of the most significant moments of her life – falling in love is put in the row of events of pathetic variety as eating the chocolate almond and the audience crying during the play. Love should stand above all of it, there is no other way. But the author lowers the degree of Edna’s feelings hinting at immature nature of the main heroine’s love. And a reader can’t help not taking it seriously, especially when Edna call the moment of her falling in love as “chocolate almond stage”. Irony is one of the most effective and powerful tools; and in this case the author’s intention is to display that immaturity and sacrifice are the result of women’s reading sentimental novels. Edna’s crave for love, passion and admiration which is underlined by using exclamatory sentences (He had tried – ah! how painfully, how pitifully!; This at last was love!  ) flood her mind almost completely. Her life is quite and predictable. Even fiancé Jimmy is brilliant example of sense and restraint. Mercifully dry-eyed Jimmy (the clue epithet that characterizes him) is portrayed on the background of the whole row in tears to intensify the contrast between Edna’s expectation of ideal beloved and the real life expectations. The deep dissatisfaction with the predictable course of event finds its expression in creating conflict with or without any serious reason. The decision to take the veil is not justified by Edna’s desire to sacrifice herself for love. She likes the idea of burning all bridges and to see how her loved ones would suffer because of her. That thought strangely appeals to her. That’s why Edna likes to imagine the tears of her parents and the mix of love and hatred of Jimmy (Now it was possible that Jimmy would get over it. No, it was no use deceiving herself; he would never get over it!). It seems that Edna feels deprived of strong passions. But nevertheless the true attitude to the whole situation is artificial. The key phrase expressing that idea of hers is “The world forgetting, by the world forgot.” Edna as young sentimental girl cannot comprehend the depth of these feelings. She can visualize all stages of her future life and create a long tale of stifled emotions, of conscious longings and suffering in her imagination. But she is not truly eager to give up everything she has. She loves the idea of being loved despite all circumstances. (Now it was possible that Jimmy would get over it. No, it was no use deceiving herself; he would never get over it!) That is the reason why the illusion falls apart like a rope of sand at the first sign of any possible loss.