The Plot: Katherine Mansfield shows the innocence of small children and the cruelty of the society that

draws a line between the rich and the poor. They are the Burnells daughters and the Kelevy’s daughters, besides
this, there are grown-up like aunt Beryl.

This story reveals that small children are innocent, but they are poisoned by the grown-up and down and
become cruel very slowly. Once Mrs. Hay had sent the Burnells children a doll's house. It was more beautiful
than a real house. It was unique and large. There was a lamp that Kezia thought to be a real one.

The Burnell's children were happy to find the excellent, beautiful doll's house. Burnell's eldest daughter
(Isabel) told her friends about it, All the children came together, but two of the girls didn't come near them,
they were coming from lower-class children of Mrs. Kelevy, their father was in the prison, and their mother
used to walk from door to door, asked for bits of clothes or food and gave them to her daughters. Besides the
Burnell’s mother had forbidden their daughters to speak with the Kelevys.

All the school children come to the Burnells house to see the doll's house, only Else and Lil Kelevy (the
poor daughters) was left uninvited, nobody spoke with them, one day Kezia (the youngest daughter of the
Burnells) asked her mother to call the Kelleys her home, but her mother abused her and was silenced, the
Kelevys were hated by all (because they are poor).

Then one day, Kezia invited Kelevy's daughter to come to their house and see the doll's house. They go
inside and see the wonderful doll's house, but Mrs. Burnell shouted them off as if they were children, in this
way, the poor children were hated by all, innocent children like Kezia saw no difference between one and
another, but the elder people create a difference in society.
 The theme is criticizing English society in the 19th century. It deals with superiority and in, it deals with
discrimination. Society is divided into the graded classes, the high class who feel superior to others, and the
lower class, the poor one.

They consider them as animals and they think that the poor don't have the right to live decently or to
get a high position in society. Thus, refuse to communicate with them and prevent their children from doing so.
Katherine Mansfield wants to say that every human being is equal and there is no differences among them. Man
is born equal and dies free, and everyone must take his right to get his education and medical care.

The characters in "The Doll's House "

1. Isabel: she is a wicked, snobbish, cruel, and proud girl. she looked down on poor people .and feels superior
to others. The eldest daughter of Brunel's family.
2. Kezia: She is the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, unlike her sister, she is kind, just fair, delicate,
sensitive and she sees all the children are the same. She couldn't understand why the Kelveys (the poor
family) are isolated. She is brave and self –sacrifice for she asked the Kelveys to come to her house and
to see the doll's house ignoring the too many warnings and the punishment that would follow, she is
associated with the lamp because she was the only hope of life on that village.
3. Lil Kelvey: she is a plain poor girl, the eldest daughter of the base family, she is fat and never cares
about others insulting her or laughing at her, she simply smiles at those who insulted her. She is passive.
4. Else Kelvey: She is the youngest daughter of the Kelvey, too short and thin with big eyes, she dressed in
a white costume just like a nightdress, she is more sensitive than her sister and she rarely smiles or
talks and whenever she wants something she would give Lil (her sister) a pull at her dress, but the end of
the story she smiles and says "I saw the lamp ", this symbolically means that she saw the hope and light.

1. The lamp: is a symbol of hope because it is a symbol of light and light means hope and life. In this story,
the lamp was the only admirable thing for Kezia. Thus, the lampstands for because she was the hope of
the Kelveys. She asked them to see the doll's house and she spoke to them although she knew that she
would be punished for this.
2. The Doll's House: is a symbol of the world or artificial world. Also, it represents each house in the
village, especially Brunel's house. It refers to a wealthy family.

"The lamp's best of all "

This quotation is said by Kezia, the youngest daughter of the rich family (The Burnels), when she saw the
lamp in the doll's house, it looks fantastic and beautiful, Kezia concentrates on the lamp, because the lamp is a
symbol of light, and light always means hope. Here Katherine Mansfield wants to express the idea of hope, she
wants to portray that perhaps there will be a hope that the discrimination between the rich people and the poor
people will be ended and life will become more beautiful.
 The Plot: Mr. Framton Nuttel suffers from a nervous condition and has come to spend some time alone in
the countryside, He visited Mrs. Sappleton's house there, one of his sister’s friends, He has gone to the
countryside in order to find calmness and relief. His first visit to Mrs. Sappleton's house where he meets 15
Vera (the niece of Mrs. Sappleton).

Vera tells Mr. Nuttel a story about Mrs. Sapplelton's husband and her two younger brothers, one day
they went fishing, then they were drowned in the sea, and their bodies were never found so that they have
never come back. Mrs. Sappleton thinks that one day, they will come, that's why, she keeps the window open,
thinking that one day they will come through the opened window. Then, Mrs. Sappleton came apologizing for
keeping him waiting with her niece Vera, Mrs. Sappleton hoped that Vera has been amusing him.

Mrs. Sappleton talked about her husband and her two younger brothers, that they went for shooting and
perhaps they will become within one moment or another. Then, Mr.Nuttle is frightened and felt nervous about
Mrs. Sappleton’s story, since Vera has told him that Mrs. Sappleton didn't believe or accept till now that her
husband and her younger brothers were drowned. He ran away from Mrs. Sappleton's home. Mrs. Sappleton was
surprised, why Mr. Nuttle ran quickly outside her home. Vera replied that he felt frightened by the sounds of
the dogs. Actually, Vera cheated on Mr. Nuettle, telling him a false story about the ghosts of Mrs. Sappleton's
husband and her two younger brothers.

1. Vera: is the most important character in "The Open Window " the author describes Vera as "self-possessed".
- "My aunt will be down presently," Mr. Nuttle said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen."
- "Then you know practically nothing about my aunt." Pursued the self–possessed young lady. Throughout
the story, Vera acts completely self–possessed, calm, cool, collected, self-assured. The writer's purpose
in emphasizing that Vera was "self-possessed "was to make it possible for her to terrify Mr.Nuttle.

She is a good actress; she quickly recovers her habitual "Self–possession " and makes up a weird tale to
explain Framton's sudden departure. Vera is 15 years old who has a vivid intelligence, but she is not too much
different from girls her age who like to play practical jokes on people. On the surface, she is very polite and
"self-possessed" but underneath she has a secret sadistic which strangers and close relatives would not
suspect.

2. Mr. Nuttle: is a nervous type fellow. He is suffering from a nervous disease. That is what brings him to
the area He is visiting. He is trying to get rest and relaxation. While he was waiting for Mrs. Sappleton,
her niece Vera tells him a false story, she tells that Mrs. Sappleton is waiting for her husband to walk
through the window. He has a nervous breakdown when he imagines that he sees the dead or lost husband
coming through the open window. Vera plays a trick on his already tense, nervous condition. Nuttle falls
for Vera's tall tale. "He believes her story, that the window remains open in hopes that Mrs. Sappleton 's
husband and brothers, who the niece says are long dead, will one day return." No doubt, Nuttle leaves
Mrs. Sappleton 's house in worse condition than when he arrived. He flees in an effort to avoid
interaction with the ghosts of Mrs. Sappleton’s husband. Vera plays a terrible trick on Nuttle.