More Mansfield Short Stories

So, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  I only have two short stories by Katherine Mansfield left to read and I will have an item checked off my to-do list.  Of course, I've saved the longest stories for last.  Hopefully I can get through those tomorrow.

But tonight I read "The Garden Party" and "The Stranger" and "The Daughters of the Late Colonel".  I have to say, I liked all three of these stories.  "The Garden Party" is about a party that a wealthy family is giving, and upon hearing about the death of one of the work-men, Laura, one of the daughters, insists that they cancel the party.  Her mother and her sister disagree and the party goes on, and Laura comments upon how this party has been the most wonderful party they've ever given.  The message seems to be that life must go on even in the face of death, and that our awareness of death, and death as a reminder, is supposed to help us enjoy those things in life that are most important.  At least, I think that's what the message is supposed to be.  "The Daughters of the Late Colonel" is pretty self-explanatory from the title.  One thing I liked about this story was the continual reference to time (I don't know why, but that always strikes me) and Mansfield has a wonderful gift for making ordinary things seem so extraordinary.  Anyway, the daughters of the late colonel are now free from their father's tyranny after he dies after a long illness.  They could never please him while he was alive, and now that he is gone, at the end of the story they think about what their lives could be like.  They could possibly meet men and get married and have lives of their own, but in the end it seems they are too afraid to actually consider living any other kind of life, and that's really sad because not only did their father treat them terribly while he was alive, they seem to have no chance of recovering what they have lost even after he is dead.  And lastly, I read "The Stranger".  I think so far, along with "The Doll's House", this is one of my favorite stories.  It's about Mr. Hammond, who has been waiting anxiously for his wife to return from a long journey overseas.  When she finally returns, he can't wait to be alone with her.  But his wife recounts the death of a stranger and after doing so, Mr. Hammond feels like this stranger will always be between them.  I know why I liked this story so much and why it's also frustrating for me on one level.  A recurring theme in Mansfield's short stories (or at least why I have come to view as a recurring theme) is that no one gets their happily ever after.  Usually it's the women who have to suffer lives of quiet desperation and unhappiness and for the most part I understand why she wrote stories with this particular theme.  But seriously, most of us just want someone to love us unconditionally, to want to be with us to the exclusion of everything else, and Mr. Hammond just wants a quiet few days alone with his wife to be happy, and he doesn't get them, and it's sad to me.