Marriage à la Mode (short story)
Encyclopedia
Marriage à la Mode is a 1921 short story by Katherine Mansfield
. It was first published the The Sphere
on 31 December 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
As it is, they have moved from a small house in London to a bigger one in the countryside. It appears Isabel has changed, thanks to the influence of an older, richer friend, and she now considers William dull and bourgeois. They have a spat about it one evening.
Isabel then picks up William at the train station, and her affected, Bohemian
friends are there. Bobby Kane joins them on the way, and Isabel pays for the sweets he bought. They all go bathing except for William and they come back late, loud, and saying bad things about William. Then at dinner they overeat, and tuck in. The next day, William returns to London for work. On the train, he writes a letter to his wife.
While they are out in the garden, Isabel receives the letter and reads it out loud to her friends, who find it hilarious. She then runs to her bedroom and feels ashamed of having read it to them. She comes to the conclusion that she will write to her husband later but for the time being she will go back to her friends.
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 The Sphere
The Sphere (newspaper)
The Sphere was a British newspaper, published weekly from 27 January 1900 until the closure of the paper on 27 June 1964; the first issue came out at the height of the Boer War and was no doubt a product of that conflict and the public appetite for images...
on 31 December 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
Title
The title is a play on the phrase mariage à la mode in French, which means 'fashionable marriage'.Plot summary
William would usually buy his children sweets because he knows his wife won't let him buy them 'big donkeys and engines', as that would be unseemly. This time he buys fruits instead.As it is, they have moved from a small house in London to a bigger one in the countryside. It appears Isabel has changed, thanks to the influence of an older, richer friend, and she now considers William dull and bourgeois. They have a spat about it one evening.
Isabel then picks up William at the train station, and her affected, Bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
friends are there. Bobby Kane joins them on the way, and Isabel pays for the sweets he bought. They all go bathing except for William and they come back late, loud, and saying bad things about William. Then at dinner they overeat, and tuck in. The next day, William returns to London for work. On the train, he writes a letter to his wife.
While they are out in the garden, Isabel receives the letter and reads it out loud to her friends, who find it hilarious. She then runs to her bedroom and feels ashamed of having read it to them. She comes to the conclusion that she will write to her husband later but for the time being she will go back to her friends.
Characters
- William, the husband.
- Isabel, the wife.
- Paddy, one of their children.
- Johnny, one of their children.
- Bill Hunt, a new friend of Isabel's.
- Dennis Green, a new friend of Isabel's.
- Moira Morrison, a new friend of Isabel's.
- Bobby Kane, a new friend of Isabel's.