A Marxist Humanist Study of Selected Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield

Abstract

Marxist-humanism is a significant and pertinent theory that critiques the exploitation of lower classes by bourgeois classes and lays emphasis on the value of individuals in present-day class-conscious societies. In the Marxist-humanist vision of human society, the freedom of a human being is the most important aspect of social existence which should not be usurped by elite classes. This research paper scrutinizes the Marxist-Humanist strains delineated in the thematic dimensions of the three selected short stories The Doll’s House, The Garden Party, and Life of Ma Parker by Katherine Mansfield. The nature of this paper is qualitative, and the researcher has attempted to unravel the process of dehumanization of the bourgeois sections of society which results in the alienation of the lower classes. Mansfield’s short stories have not been previously explored from a Marxist-humanist perspective and the present research contributes to the available research studies on Katherine Mansfield’s short stories.

Painful ambivalence: A Marxist feminist analysis of moral anxiety and gendered class consciousness in “The Garden Party”

“…Vieco further argues that social conventions, class consciousness, the prevalent archetype of domestic femininity that dates to Victorian times indoctrinate bourgeois women like Laura Sheridan, forcing them into specific schematic gendered roles. According to Khan et al, (2022), her writing style captures the fragmented, disjointed nature of this experience, reflecting the confusion uncertainty faced by her characters as they try to reconcile their true human selves with the expectations placed upon them. With her signature style and a sharp eye for detail, Mansfield's works remain a poignant exploration of gender societal norms, offering a nuanced perplexing glimpse into the complexities of human experience.…”