Symbolism In Katherine Mansfield's 'Prelude'

Katherine Mansfield was a prominent author from New Zealand whose short stories are widely regarded as a significant contribution to the modernist period of English literature. Her unique style of writing, which revolutionized the short story form, is distinctive for the vivid use of symbols and imagery. Although the plot of the story appears to be simple, in fact its meaning goes deeper and is enriched with symbols and images portraying deep insights into characters' psyche. As a result, Mansfield allows various levels of understanding the meaning of the text. Symbols of the aloe, ship or the bird are main examples which can be found in “Prelude”. They reflect the quality of mind of Linda Burnell, one of the main characters within a story, and depict her problem of rebellion against traditional feminine role. Through the employment of the these literary techniques, Mansfield successfully evokes Linda's emotions and clearly illustrates her fears and desires.
The first significant symbol exemplifying both fears and desires of the principal character of Linda, is the aloe. As Saralyn Daly points out, the aloe appears to be one of the most important symbols which can be found in the story, since the author originally entitled her work “The Aloe” (67). In fact, this image has strikingly emotional effect on Linda and it can be interpreted in various ways. Firstly, contemplation of the plant during Linda's night walk in the garden represents the two contradicting feelings of the character.
On one hand, the aloe evokes Linda's sexual fears and hatred towards her husband Stanley. Her aversion is obvious, since in thoughts she refers to him as “Newfoundland dog” (Mansfield 53). As the character recalls about Stanley's sexual desires, ...

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...e's pregnancy, exemplifies fear and resentment at fulfilling the role of a mother. Multiplicity of images clearly portrays the unstable psychological state of Linda's character. Due to the fact that the author of the story places more emphasis on a mood rather than on the progress of the events, imagery and symbolism play crucial role within the work. As Julia Gunsteren accordingly points out: “Mansfield preferred to write fiction with an emphasis on a fragmentary momentary psychological experience with little action, but with numerous images which convey obliquely some possible thematic motif, movement or action” (167). The use of symbolist technique allows various readings and interpretations of the text. Symbols found in the story make a literary work more meaningful and open the doors to the underlying meaning in connection to the emotions of the main character.