The aim of this essay is to present you with a close reading of a specific paragraph from the short story by Katherine Mansfield ‘The Woman at the store’. The paragraph which has been chosen to be presented in this essay is the one of the first meeting of the three men with the Woman, the main female figure and protagonist of this short story. It is a paragraph which describes the situation of confronting each other. The essay is structured in three steps. Each step emphasizes and highlights one particular aspect of the essay. The first step is the writing of the paragraph which is to be presented in the essay, the second step is the analysis of this paragraph and the findings of its close reading and the third paragraph is the reflections drawn upon the close reading of this particular paragraph.
Step ! – Selected Text
The paragraph which has been chosen to be presented in this essay on the close reading of a particular text from the story ‘The Woman at the Store’ is the paragraph which is somewhere in the center of the narration. It is the paragraph in which the writer actually brings face to face the main persons of her story. The three men finally meet the woman who has been described to them by their Jo. Although Jo has seen her before, it has been a great while since Jo last saw her, so this meeting is of crucial importance to all of them. The writer does not express directly her beliefs on how crucial this meeting may be for the woman herself. She just describes the woman putting emphasis on her appearance. This is done on purpose on behalf of Mansfield. She wishes to put emphasis on the lie which had been told by Jo as far as the woman’s appearance is concerned and thus prove that it is really easy to make fun of someone else. The second reason why Mansfield emphasizes on the appearance of the woman is the fact that she wants to highlight the influence of the harsh environment of New Zealand on the appearance of people.
2-Step 2 – Close Reading
This paragraph comes to intensify the narration. This is the moment the readers have been prepared to witness from the very beginning of the short story. The title of the story has already prepared the readers that the story they are about to read is a story of a woman who either works, lives or is met at a store. The story begins with the narration and description of three men who have found themselves travelling in the harsh environment of New Zealand. One of the men, Jo, tells the others who are the narrator and Hin that they are about to make a stop in their journey, so that they can get some rest and spend the night. He has prepared them for a store which is to be found on their way and is owned by a woman in blue eyes and blonde hair. So, the moment comes and the first meeting with the woman is taking place in this paragraph. This meeting is much more than ever imagined on behalf of the two men. Mansfield uses a metaphor at the very first line of her paragraph, describing the woman like a hungry bird. This metaphor puts across the real image of the woman, who appears to be cruel and ugly. Like a hungry bird goes round and round looking for its prey, this woman is standing there finding herself to be confronting three unknown men. The fact that she stood there still and looking at them with audacity like a hungry bird, reveals a lot about the woman’s character and ideology. She is either audacious or she is too naïve to be aware of any potential dangers when she confronts some unknown persons. The readers though seem to be getting the impression that the woman is just not afraid. Probably there is a hint here on behalf of the writer who wishes to emphasize on the damage which people experience as far as their appearance and behavior are concerned, when they find themselves living in a very harsh environment. Both the woman and the three men seem too cruel due to the harsh conditions under which they are asked to survive, that they become less and less afraid of any kind of unknown situation. They seem to have experienced all the cruelty and harshness within their whereabouts, so there is no more room for any further fear or disappointment. It is also notable that this confronting of one another generates a variety of reactions to the readers which are expressed through the internal voice of the narrator. The writer here uses imitation as a literary device in order to approach her readers and make it clear to them that she realizes how surprised they feel. So she has her narrator to describe exactly what her readers are feeling. This is a funny confrontation if not a ridiculous one. The narrator and Hin fell victims of the fun that Jo wanted to make of them. Similarly the readers fell victims of the fun that the story itself wanted to make of them. Or could it be no fun? Could it be that the story just wanted to put across the message that life is harsh like the environment of New Zealand so it is no surprise that most people fall victims of others who want to pull their legs. Being laughed at is part of the life’s harshness. Mansfield emphasizes on the fact that the characteristics of the woman are as first described by Jo. The woman has indeed blonde hair and blue eyes. But she is too ugly. So another message is put across to the readers which reveals the mastery of Mansfield as far as her narrative techniques and writing talent are concerned. The outer appearance is not always what it may seem to be. Not to mention that not all people share common criteria on criticizing what may be or may not be considered beautiful. The characteristics that Jo had chosen to describe to his co –travelers were accompanied by red pulpy hands, knocked front teeth and dirty Bluchers. So, this is either a hint that not all people choose to emphasize on the same things or that what may seem important to some people and attract their attention may at the same time seem of little importance to others.
4-Step 3 – Reflections drawn upon the close reading of the paragraph
Mansfield proves once more that a simple short story with no complicated plot may be a really interesting piece of reading which reveals the magic lying in the writing talent of a writer. Mansfield’s themes are given behind the words and structure of this short story of hers. She emphasizes on the harshness of life, on the ambiguity of interpretations and situations in life, on the loneliness and mixture of feelings experienced in a confrontation.
