Introduction
A Cup of Tea is a short story written by New Zealand’s prominent short fiction writer and poet Katherine Mansfield in 1922. This story was written on the 11th of January back in early 1922, which was first published in the famous Story-Teller magazine and later appeared in Mansfield’s short story collection The Dove’s Nest.
This story revolves around the character of a wealthy woman named Rosemary. She spends her day shopping and spending money lavishly. She met with a poor woman of her age named Miss. Smith, who asks for the price of a cup of tea. Rosemary took her home and tried to help her however her intentions are not that kind. She wants to gain fame from this act of kindness. In the end, she wants to get rid of Miss. Smith as her husband praises her for being beautiful.
The story is associated with the deplorable conditions of New Zealand at the time when it used to be a British Colony. The trends of class distinction were at its peak, a noticeable issue which needed to be brought forward influenced Mansfield to pen it down.
Beside this story holds class consciousness and materialism as its pivot point. Stunningly well-characterized and magnificently portrayed against its plain title, this story remarkably presents a crystal clear image of class distinction and one’s mad fondness towards materialism.
It’s just the same as “the doll’s house” and “the garden party” as a matter of fact that these stories also reflect upon the same issue of class distinction. Mansfield also tried to reflect upon the noble act of philanthropy and how people fancy this act to be the cause of ascension for their moral values among their social circle.
About Author
Kathleen Mansfield Murry was a New Zealand writer and critic who is considered to be an important author of the modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world, and have been published in 25 languages.
Born and raised in a house on Tinakori Road in the Wellington suburb of Thorndon, Mansfield was the third child in the Beauchamp family. She began school in Karori with her sisters before attending Wellington Girls' College. The Beauchamp girls later switched to the elite Fitzherbert Terrace School, where Mansfield became friends with Maata Mahupuku, who became a muse for early work and with whom she is believed to have had a passionate relationship
Mansfield wrote short stories and poetry under a variation of her own name, Katherine Mansfield, which explored anxiety, sexuality and existentialism alongside a developing New Zealand identity. When she was 19, she left New Zealand and settled in England, where she became a friend of D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Lady Ottoline Morrell and others in the orbit of the Bloomsbury Group. Mansfield was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in 1917, and she died in France aged 34.
.Summary
Rosemary Fell, a very rich and well off woman, who has been married for two years to a very rich and devoted man Mr. Philips Fell, spends her day out shopping at some west corners of London in the finest of shops. She visits an ingratiating antique dealer’s shop that shows her a beautiful small blue velvet box. Rosemary is taken by the beauty of the creamy piece of art but decides not to buy it and asks the shopkeeper to save it for her.
Out she comes from the shop into the rain and as she reaches towards the car a girl approaches her asking her to pay for the price of a cup of tea. Astonished, Rosemary asks the girl to come home with her for tea, finding it an opportunity of adventure and experience, just like she read in books and stories of Dostoevsky. She wanted to show the girl that rich people do possess mercy. The girl agrees apart from her great fears to ride with Rosemary in her car.
As they reach the house, Rosemary takes the poor girl to her room and asks her to sit by the fire. She helps her take off her coat and hat and tries to soothe her. As she tries to proceed further, the girl cries out that she can’t stand it anymore fearing that she will faint out of hunger. Rosemary hurriedly orders tea.
The girl is provided with tea and sandwiches while Rosemary lights a cigarette. Keen to know the story of the girl, Rosemary starts up a conversation with her which is unintentionally interrupted by her husband. He is surprised to see the stranger in the room and asks his wife to talk to him privately.
As they enter the library, Philips begins to inquire about the matter. To this Rosemary replies that she is just helping the poor lady whom she picked up from the street. Her husband tries to tell her that she can’t have a stranger in the house. Facing a refusal Philips points out that the lady is remarkably pretty giving a rise to insecurities of Rosemary.
Rosemary leaves the library and enters the study room from where she picks up some cash. She returns to her room and hands over the money to the poor girl making her leave the house.
After the girl leaves the house Rosemary joins Philips back in the library and asks him if she could buy the velvet box which wasn’t what she wished to ask. After a pause, she whispers, “Am I pretty?”
Themes
Appearance verses Reality
In the whole story, readers may find the appearance in contrast to reality. On the surface, the person seems different however his intentions are something else. In this way, Mansfield portrays hypocrisy in New Zealand’s perturbed society. Rosemary on the surface strikes kind and caring by taking care of Miss. Smith.
However, the reality of her intentions is full of hypocrisy. She helps her not out of kindness or cares rather for her own interests. She thought by helping so would give her a chance of upgrading her status and boasting her action.
In a similar manner, Mansfield pinpoints her society in which upper classes were taking advantage of virtuous acts for their own benefits. They help the poor to gain praise and material objects.
Jealousy and Insecurity
Rosemary has made a prototype of jealousy and insecurity. At first, she appears kind and helps Miss. Smith. But in the end, when her husband, Philip praises Miss. Smith got jealous and insecure.
In order to get rid of Miss. Smith gives her money. Afterwards, she did some makeup and tried to attract the attention of her husband by her charming looks.
Materialism
These two things have been discussed explicitly in the text by Mansfield. Rosemary could be seen chasing material objects throughout the text. Firstly, she appears to be desiring an enamel box. Afterwards, she helps Miss. Smith just to gain praise and upgrade her social status. In the whole story, she appears as a mean character. Readers may find her penchant towards material objects in the story.
Through this Mansfield highlights how true emotions are fading from society and people are running after material objects.
Class Distinction
Class distinction is also explicit in the story. Miss. Smith belongs to the lower class; she even didn’t have enough money for a cup of tea. For this, she begs Rosemary. In contrast, Rosemary is a rich woman having every luxury of life. She appears well dressed while Miss. Smith is in a miserable situation.
This draws a comparison between both classes. On one hand, the wealthy are enjoying everything in their life. On the other hand, lower classes are exposed to hunger and disrespect at the hands of the upper classes.
Analysis
A Cup of Tea is a short story written by New Zealand’s prominent short fiction writer and poet Katherine Mansfield in 1922. This story was written on the 11th of January back in early 1922, which was first published in the famous Story-Teller magazine and later appeared in Mansfield’s short story collection The Dove’s Nest.
A Cup of Tea recounts the deplorable conditions of New Zealand society under British colonialism. It exhibits how materialism, hypocrisy, disparity and most specifically class distinction was prevailing in those times.
Mansfield mirrors the aforementioned issues via the character of Rosemary. Her actions and mentality depict those issues. At first, readers may see how Rosemary has a penchant for material gains. This is shown specifically when she desires to have a prized beautiful little box. It represents the extravagance of Rosemary instead of spending her money on useful things she desires to have that little box.
Moreover, Mansfield has tactfully depicted appearance versus reality. She shows not everything is the same as it seems. There are many chances where appearance narrates something else however the reality is a lot different.
The same occurs in the character of Rosemary particularly when she tries to help Miss. Smith. Firstly, she takes her home and then serves her. Though her actions may strike virtuous and kind to the readers however it is not real.
Rosemary took advantage of Miss. Smith helpless condition. Her intentions were never to help her out. Rather she tries to use her as a medium to propagate her fame and upgrade social status. She thinks that this act can provide her a chance to boast in her social circle.
Mansfield used Rosemary for the depiction of upper classes who do the same. New Zealand back in the 19th century was the same. Upper classes were exploiting lower classes for their own benefits. Even the kind act of helping was not spared, it was used as an object to generate praise and material objects.
Moreover, class distinction and the miserable condition of poor are also highlighted in the story. Mansfield shows how wealth was wrongly distributed in society. On one hand, Rosemary was a wealthy and well-dressed woman. She gets what she desires. On the other hand, Miss. Smith is a poor girl with weak features and not properly dressed. She even begs Rosemary for the price of a cup of tea. This mirrors the poverty of the lower classes.
Mansfield has thrown light on the prejudice and apathy of upper classes against lower classes. Rosemary helps Miss. Smith takes off her hat and coat however she doesn’t show any respect to her belongings and throws them on the floor. This also indicates how upper classes turn a blind eye towards the poor’s sufferings.
Additionally, Mansfield also highlights jealousy and insecurity of Rosemary. At first, she is cheerful for helping Miss. Smith though she doesn’t respect her. However, when her husband praises Miss. Smith’s beauty, she got jealous. Afterwards she tries to send Miss. Smith ran away from her house by giving her
some money. Rosemary got so insecure that she tried to allure her husband with her looks.
Rosemary Fell, a very rich and well off woman, who has been married for two years to a very rich and devoted man Mr. Philips Fell, spends her day out shopping at some west corners of London in the finest of shops. She visits an ingratiating antique dealer’s shop that shows her a beautiful small blue velvet box. Rosemary is taken by the beauty of the creamy piece of art but decides not to buy it and asks the shopkeeper to save it for her.
Out she comes from the shop into the rain and as she reaches towards the car a girl approaches her asking her to pay for the price of a cup of tea. Astonished, Rosemary asks the girl to come home with her for tea, finding it an opportunity of adventure and experience, just like she read in books and stories of Dostoevsky. She wanted to show the girl that rich people do possess mercy. The girl agrees apart from her great fears to ride with Rosemary in her car.
As they reach the house, Rosemary takes the poor girl to her room and asks her to sit by the fire. She helps her take off her coat and hat and tries to soothe her. As she tries to proceed further, the girl cries out that she can’t stand it anymore fearing that she will faint out of hunger. Rosemary hurriedly orders tea.
The girl is provided with tea and sandwiches while Rosemary lights a cigarette. Keen to know the story of the girl, Rosemary starts up a conversation with her which is unintentionally interrupted by her husband. He is surprised to see the stranger in the room and asks his wife to talk to him privately.
As they enter the library, Philips begins to inquire about the matter. To this Rosemary replies that she is just helping the poor lady whom she picked up from the street. Her husband tries to tell her that she can’t have a stranger in the house. Facing a refusal Philips points out that the lady is remarkably pretty giving a rise to insecurities of Rosemary.
Rosemary leaves the library and enters the study room from where she picks up some cash. She returns to her room and hands over the money to the poor girl making her leave the house.
After the girl leaves the house Rosemary joins Philips back in the library and asks him if she could buy the velvet box which wasn’t what she wished to ask. After a pause, she whispers, “Am I pretty?”
Themes
Appearance verses Reality
In the whole story, readers may find the appearance in contrast to reality. On the surface, the person seems different however his intentions are something else. In this way, Mansfield portrays hypocrisy in New Zealand’s perturbed society. Rosemary on the surface strikes kind and caring by taking care of Miss. Smith.
However, the reality of her intentions is full of hypocrisy. She helps her not out of kindness or cares rather for her own interests. She thought by helping so would give her a chance of upgrading her status and boasting her action.
In a similar manner, Mansfield pinpoints her society in which upper classes were taking advantage of virtuous acts for their own benefits. They help the poor to gain praise and material objects.
Jealousy and Insecurity
Rosemary has made a prototype of jealousy and insecurity. At first, she appears kind and helps Miss. Smith. But in the end, when her husband, Philip praises Miss. Smith got jealous and insecure.
In order to get rid of Miss. Smith gives her money. Afterwards, she did some makeup and tried to attract the attention of her husband by her charming looks.
Materialism
These two things have been discussed explicitly in the text by Mansfield. Rosemary could be seen chasing material objects throughout the text. Firstly, she appears to be desiring an enamel box. Afterwards, she helps Miss. Smith just to gain praise and upgrade her social status. In the whole story, she appears as a mean character. Readers may find her penchant towards material objects in the story.
Through this Mansfield highlights how true emotions are fading from society and people are running after material objects.
Class Distinction
Class distinction is also explicit in the story. Miss. Smith belongs to the lower class; she even didn’t have enough money for a cup of tea. For this, she begs Rosemary. In contrast, Rosemary is a rich woman having every luxury of life. She appears well dressed while Miss. Smith is in a miserable situation.
This draws a comparison between both classes. On one hand, the wealthy are enjoying everything in their life. On the other hand, lower classes are exposed to hunger and disrespect at the hands of the upper classes.
Analysis
A Cup of Tea is a short story written by New Zealand’s prominent short fiction writer and poet Katherine Mansfield in 1922. This story was written on the 11th of January back in early 1922, which was first published in the famous Story-Teller magazine and later appeared in Mansfield’s short story collection The Dove’s Nest.
A Cup of Tea recounts the deplorable conditions of New Zealand society under British colonialism. It exhibits how materialism, hypocrisy, disparity and most specifically class distinction was prevailing in those times.
Mansfield mirrors the aforementioned issues via the character of Rosemary. Her actions and mentality depict those issues. At first, readers may see how Rosemary has a penchant for material gains. This is shown specifically when she desires to have a prized beautiful little box. It represents the extravagance of Rosemary instead of spending her money on useful things she desires to have that little box.
Moreover, Mansfield has tactfully depicted appearance versus reality. She shows not everything is the same as it seems. There are many chances where appearance narrates something else however the reality is a lot different.
The same occurs in the character of Rosemary particularly when she tries to help Miss. Smith. Firstly, she takes her home and then serves her. Though her actions may strike virtuous and kind to the readers however it is not real.
Rosemary took advantage of Miss. Smith helpless condition. Her intentions were never to help her out. Rather she tries to use her as a medium to propagate her fame and upgrade social status. She thinks that this act can provide her a chance to boast in her social circle.
Mansfield used Rosemary for the depiction of upper classes who do the same. New Zealand back in the 19th century was the same. Upper classes were exploiting lower classes for their own benefits. Even the kind act of helping was not spared, it was used as an object to generate praise and material objects.
Moreover, class distinction and the miserable condition of poor are also highlighted in the story. Mansfield shows how wealth was wrongly distributed in society. On one hand, Rosemary was a wealthy and well-dressed woman. She gets what she desires. On the other hand, Miss. Smith is a poor girl with weak features and not properly dressed. She even begs Rosemary for the price of a cup of tea. This mirrors the poverty of the lower classes.
Mansfield has thrown light on the prejudice and apathy of upper classes against lower classes. Rosemary helps Miss. Smith takes off her hat and coat however she doesn’t show any respect to her belongings and throws them on the floor. This also indicates how upper classes turn a blind eye towards the poor’s sufferings.
Additionally, Mansfield also highlights jealousy and insecurity of Rosemary. At first, she is cheerful for helping Miss. Smith though she doesn’t respect her. However, when her husband praises Miss. Smith’s beauty, she got jealous. Afterwards she tries to send Miss. Smith ran away from her house by giving her
some money. Rosemary got so insecure that she tried to allure her husband with her looks.
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