| Several of Katherine Mansfield's characters grapple with the issue of personal identity. They begin to recognize that “who they are” can not necessarily be summed up as a unified whole; rather their identities are complex and multiple. Some of Mansfield's characters (e.g. Beryl in “Prelude” and “At the Bay” and Constantia in “Daughters of the Late Colonel”) feel as though they have been playing out a role and, in doing so, they've created a “false self.” This thesis will examine various characters in Mansfield's stories (specifically, Beryl Fairfield, Linda and Stanley Burnell, Jonathan Trout and Constantia) in order to show the ways in which identity is multiple. In particular, this thesis will argue that the “other selves” may be seen as personae (a Jungian concept), masks that each person wears in order to conform to specific societal expectations. Beginning from the postmodern premise that gender is a social construct, this thesis will contend that many of Mansfield's characters are behaving under a gender mask in order to meet the expectations of their patriarchal society. |
