Symbolism in The Short Story “The Lady’s Maid” (1920), by Katherine Mansfield

An analysis

This article aims to show and analyze some of the main symbols presented in the short story “The Lady’s Maid” (1920), by Katherine Mansfield. The text was first published on December 24, 1920, in the literary magazine Athenaeum. As one of the most recognized New Zealand short story writers, the author was known for stories focused on psychological conflicts, exploring the characters’ subconscious, while using the stream of consciousness. The narrators, in most of her stories, can travel in and out of a character’s mind. In this case, the writer uses symbols throughout the whole story, mostly to give the reader a deeper perspective of the characters’ psychological state or their feelings and sensations.

In this short story, there are four main characters – Ellen who is the narrator and also the maid and protagonist; “Madam”, who is a woman with no lines, just an interlocutor; “The Lady”, an old, religious, and manipulative person; and Harry, a florist young man who proposes to Ellen. The story goes on through the protagonist’s perspective, while she is talking with Madam about her experiences in her job – which mostly consisted of taking care of her Lady. The character explores her inner conflicts while talking about her story to Madam. Some of the themes related to Ellen’s relationships in this story are independence, control, regret, and guilt.

The purpose of this text is to show how some of the elements shown in the story function as symbols of those themes, beliefs, the characters’ personalities, feelings, or sensations – it is important to emphasize that these symbols are mostly related to the protagonist and narrator’s identity. There are also many biblical references in those symbols, which are closely related to the story’s theme and the plot itself.

At the beginning of the short story, Ellen tells Madam that her lady, described as a very religious woman, has a little red book in which she writes down the name of every person she knows and prays for them so that their sins would be forgiven, washed away. In the bible, the color red usually represents sin – something to be purified. Also, it is the color of Jesus Christ’s blood, poured for the sinners, a sign of sacrifice for the greater good. This principle is reflected in the Lady sacrificing her warm tea to pray for others’ redemption. It shows, also, how Ellen sees her lady – sometimes as a martyr, or even as some kind of divinity, someone who she is always looking up to, and whom she serves, unconditionally.

By the eleventh paragraph, there is a stronger symbol of the narrator’s subservience. Ellen was told to take the lady’s two little nieces for a ride on donkeys. As the narrator sees the donkeys, they are described as “lovely-silver gray, with little red saddles and blues bridles and bells jing-a-jingling on their ears”. These animals are constantly used for symbolizing hard work and stubbornness, and in these scenes, they are shown as beautiful, adorned, and well-dressed – and so is Ellen: it was the first time she was wearing collars and cuffs as part of her uniform. This symbol is a picture of herself, that reflects the false idea that having ornaments softens the thought of hard-working and servitude. They looked gorgeous, both the donkeys and Ellen, but they are still serving and amusing others.

“And quite big girls - older than me, even - were riding them, ever so gay. Not at all common, I don't mean, madam, just enjoying themselves. And I don't know what it was, but the way the little feet went, and the eyes - so gentle - and the soft ears - made me want to go on a donkey more than anything in the world!”

That night, Ellen waited for everyone to go to sleep so that they would think that she was also sleeping. Then, pretending that she was indeed asleep, she desperately claims – screams – that she wanted a donkey-ride. While working for that family, she could not ask for that because she was just like those donkeys: there just to serve and obey. That is also symbolic: Jesus rode a donkey one week before his sacrifice, while people from the city of Jerusalem welcomed him with claps and shouts. Ellen’s wishes to ride those donkeys reflect her desire to be loved and celebrated, and also to be served and pleased – like the two little girls were by her in the previous paragraph.

“Well, madam, would you believe it, I waited for a long time and pretended to be asleep, and then suddenly I sat up and called out as loud as I could, "I do want to go on a donkey. I do want a donkey-ride!" You see, I had to say it, and I thought they wouldn't laugh at me if they knew I was only dreaming. Artful - wasn't it? Just what a silly child would think...”

It is relevant to observe that the protagonist strongly refuses her own desires, her own wishes, as something that only a silly child would want – these are the first signs that she was renouncing her own life for her duties, and mainly for her lady. That is also the way that she tells this story to the interlocutor (Madam), still refusing her own individuality.

As the story goes on, Ellen talks about the man that once proposed to her, the florist, Harry, who she describes as a great boyfriend. Even though she truly liked him and was just about to marry the young man, she refuses his proposal – mostly because she felt like the marriage would interfere in her job and in her relationship with her lady. Then, Ellen gives back the gift that her fiancé gave her; a ducky little brooch. The brooch had a silver bird with a chain in its beak, and a heart with a dagger by the end of the chain.

This brooch is also very symbolic. In the bible, the fact that ducks’ outer feathers are waterproof is linked to anointing, and it symbolizes blessing and protection. The chain, that the bird had in its beak, connects the animal to the heart and is a symbol of servitude, slavery, oppression, and pain. The heart with a dagger also has a biblical meaning – the Sacred Heart of Mary, an externalization of mother Mary’s pain and suffering due to her son’s sacrifice. In this sense, it is possible to infer that this brooch given by Harry symbolizes how Ellen would always be imprisoned to her suffering, and to her life of servitude – if she married Harry, she would still be serving her husband. It seems that the character, in this part, opted to continue serving her lady.

“I never gave him time for a word. "There you are," I said. "Take them all back," I said, "it's all over. I'm not going to marry you," I said, "I can't leave my lady." White! he turned as white as a woman. I had to slam the door, and there I stood, all of a tremble, till I knew he had gone.”

It is also noticeable that this short story presents a few flowers as symbols – each one of them might be understood as a different symbol. Those flowers are: pansies, daffodils, and lilies-of-the-valley. In the thirteenth paragraph, the protagonist is describing her relationship with Harry and mentions the flowers that he used to give her.

"[...] and I've had my Easter lilies with a gorgeous star all daffodils in the middle".

Interestingly, lilies-of-the-valley are known as highly poisonous flowers. However, they were put together with daffodils – flowers that are normally used to symbolize new beginnings. In this part of the story, it is clear that the Maid is confused and cannot choose between marrying her boyfriend or staying with her lady. One of the possible interpretations is that the daffodils might represent her marriage, or her relationship with Harry, while the lilies represent her lady. Nevertheless, it is imaginable that her marriage can also be compared to a suffocating relationship, at the same time that it is a new start – this possibility can also be linked to the brooch that the man gave her, seen as a symbol of a relationship that is both the protagonist’s relief and imprisonment. This is the character’s main dilemma – the lady and her husband. No matter the decision, Ellen would still be living a life of subservience.

It is clear that most of those symbols are strongly connected to the protagonist’s vision of herself, of her beliefs, and her suppressed personality and desires. Those are the main elements to understand the story’s theme – abdication of one’s life to serve – and also are a distinctive feature of Mansfield’s writing style, mostly centered in the protagonists’ consciousness and perception, revealed and illustrated by symbols that, at first reading, might not seem essential to the reader.

References

MANSFIELD, Katherine. The Lady's Maid. In: MANSFIELD, Katherine. The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield. [S. l.]: Wordsworth Edition, 2006. p. 304-309.