At the Bay
Encyclopedia
At The Bay is a 1922 short story by Katherine Mansfield
. It was first published the London Mercury
in January 1922, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
The shepherd is with his dog on Crescent Bay.
II
Stanley Burnell goes for a swim early morning, and Jonathan Trout is there; the two men wanted to be the first in the water, and Jonathan expresses sympathy for Stanley.
III
Aunt Beryl tells Kezia not to play with her food. Stanley leaves for work, to the women's relief.
IV
Out in the countryside, Kezia helps Lottie with the stile to Isabel's disapproval. The Samuel Josephs children are said to be rowdy and they don't play with them any more. Then they come upon Rags and Pip, and the latter shows them a 'nemeral' he has found in the sand.
V
At the beach, Aunt Beryl joins Mrs Kember, of whom Mrs Fairfield disapproves. Beryl gets changed in front of her friend.
VI
Linda is alone in the bungalow. She thinks back of when she was living in Tasmania
with her parents, of how her father said they would go down a river in China
, of how her father agreed on her marrying Stanley whom she loves for being soft underneath the veneer. Her baby boy comes along and she says she feels no motherly love for him; he keeps on smiling, then plays with his toes.
VII
After a description of the seashore, Mrs Fairfield and Kezia are taking an afternoon nap in the bungalow. The grandmother is thinking of Uncle William, one of her sons who died of sunstroke while working as a miner; Kezia asks her if she is sad, then attempts to make the grandmother promise never to die.
VIII
Alice visits Mrs Stubbs in town; the latter shows her photographs, then talks about how her husband died of dropsy, and adds that 'freedom is best'.
IX
Kezia, Lottie and Isabel are playing a card game similar to 'snap' with Pips and Rag in the washhouse. Uncle Jonathan turns up to take the boys home.
X
Before picking up the boys, Uncle Jonathan meets Linda in the garden. She is charmed by him. He confesses to loathing his job but believes he lacks the willpower to change his life.
XI
Stanley comes back and apologises profusely for not saying goodbye to Linda in the morning. He has bought gloves for himself.
XII
Aunt Beryl is worried about being single and growing old alone; Harry Kember turns up and asks her for a walk; at first she goes along with him, but repudiates his advances when his intentions become clear.
XIII
A brief description of the bay.
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction who was born and brought up in colonial New Zealand and wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield left for Great Britain in 1908 where she encountered Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and...
. It was first published the London Mercury
London Mercury
The London Mercury was the name of several periodicals published in London from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. The earliest was a newspaper that appeared during the Exclusion Bill crisis; it lasted only 56 issues...
in January 1922, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
Plot summary
IThe shepherd is with his dog on Crescent Bay.
II
Stanley Burnell goes for a swim early morning, and Jonathan Trout is there; the two men wanted to be the first in the water, and Jonathan expresses sympathy for Stanley.
III
Aunt Beryl tells Kezia not to play with her food. Stanley leaves for work, to the women's relief.
IV
Out in the countryside, Kezia helps Lottie with the stile to Isabel's disapproval. The Samuel Josephs children are said to be rowdy and they don't play with them any more. Then they come upon Rags and Pip, and the latter shows them a 'nemeral' he has found in the sand.
V
At the beach, Aunt Beryl joins Mrs Kember, of whom Mrs Fairfield disapproves. Beryl gets changed in front of her friend.
VI
Linda is alone in the bungalow. She thinks back of when she was living in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
with her parents, of how her father said they would go down a river in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, of how her father agreed on her marrying Stanley whom she loves for being soft underneath the veneer. Her baby boy comes along and she says she feels no motherly love for him; he keeps on smiling, then plays with his toes.
VII
After a description of the seashore, Mrs Fairfield and Kezia are taking an afternoon nap in the bungalow. The grandmother is thinking of Uncle William, one of her sons who died of sunstroke while working as a miner; Kezia asks her if she is sad, then attempts to make the grandmother promise never to die.
VIII
Alice visits Mrs Stubbs in town; the latter shows her photographs, then talks about how her husband died of dropsy, and adds that 'freedom is best'.
IX
Kezia, Lottie and Isabel are playing a card game similar to 'snap' with Pips and Rag in the washhouse. Uncle Jonathan turns up to take the boys home.
X
Before picking up the boys, Uncle Jonathan meets Linda in the garden. She is charmed by him. He confesses to loathing his job but believes he lacks the willpower to change his life.
XI
Stanley comes back and apologises profusely for not saying goodbye to Linda in the morning. He has bought gloves for himself.
XII
Aunt Beryl is worried about being single and growing old alone; Harry Kember turns up and asks her for a walk; at first she goes along with him, but repudiates his advances when his intentions become clear.
XIII
A brief description of the bay.
Characters
- The Shepherd
- Stanley Burnell
- "Linda Burnell"
- Jonathan Trout
- Aunt Beryl
- Mrs Fairfield
- Kezia
- Isabel
- Lottie
- The Samuel Josephs children
- Pip, a cousin of the Burnells
- Rags, a cousin of the Burnells
- Mrs Harry Kember; an eccentric who smokes heavily and likes to play bridgeBridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
- Gladys, Mrs Kember's servant, whom she calls Glad-eyes
- Mrs Stubbs, who runs a shop near the beach; a friend of Alice.
- Uncle Johnathan, likes music and books; he is the leader of the church choir.
- Mr Harry Kember