Mr and Mrs Dove
Encyclopedia
Mr and Mrs Dove is a 1921 short story by Katherine Mansfield
. It was first published in The Sphere
on 28 November 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
the next day; it is his last day in England
. Again he thinks of Anne; then he goes to Colonel Proctor's to say goodbye, and he is greeted by Anne, her parents being away. On seeing him she laughs, then he tells her he is leaving. They both look at her pet doves. She remarks how "Mr. Dove" is always running after "Mrs Dove". Reginald asks her if she likes him, and she says she cannot marry him. He's unhappy at the rejection, and tries to depart. She asks why he's upset, but he persists in leaving. As he's walking away, she calls him again, and he goes back to her.
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 in 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 28 November 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.
Plot summary
Reginald is returning to RhodesiaRhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
the next day; it is his last day in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Again he thinks of Anne; then he goes to Colonel Proctor's to say goodbye, and he is greeted by Anne, her parents being away. On seeing him she laughs, then he tells her he is leaving. They both look at her pet doves. She remarks how "Mr. Dove" is always running after "Mrs Dove". Reginald asks her if she likes him, and she says she cannot marry him. He's unhappy at the rejection, and tries to depart. She asks why he's upset, but he persists in leaving. As he's walking away, she calls him again, and he goes back to her.
Characters
- Reginald, the young man; he works on a fruit farm in RhodesiaRhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. He is wan-looking because of his job. - Anne, the coveted girl. She is Colonel Proctor's daughter, and she lives in England with her parents.
- Colonel Proctor, Anne's father.
- The Mater, Reginald's mother.
- Uncle Alick, deceased.
- the mother's widowed mother, who lives in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.