ENGL 481 (Spring 1997)
Katherine Mansfield & Virginia Woolf

[WOOLF, VIRGINIA][MANSFIELD, KATHERINE]

Professor: J. Lawrence Mitchell

Office: Blocker 227
Hours: After class
Phone: 845-3890

Course Description

For a few years, Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) and Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) were, in their different ways, among the most influential women of letters in England. The relationship between the two was complicated and sometimes tense. Differences of background, taste, and mode of living made it difficult at times for them to find common ground--and, of course, they became literary rivals. But their shared passion for writing as a way of life led them to a kind of grudging mutual respect--each saw something of herself in the other. After Mansfield's untimely death in 1923, Woolf said "I have a feeling that I shall think of her at intervals all through life" and, indeed, in 1931, confessed that "I dream of her often..." As James King suggests in his recent biography: "The truth was that Katherine Mansfield was the shadow self of Virginia Woolf, the woman writer who--in love and hatred--goaded her to do her best" (Virginia Woolf, 1995:324).

In this seminar, we will undertake an in-depth reading of the lives and works of Mansfield and Woolf and the points of contact between the two. We will draw extensively upon non-fictional sources--diaries, essays, letters, and reviews--as well as upon fiction. For a number of good reasons, the focus will be upon short fiction, but we will also consider the evolution of such longer works as Mansfield's The Aloe (first published in a much sparer form as Prelude) and Woolf's Mrs Dalloway (which evolved from a sequence of short stories). Among the issues likely to receive some attention are androgyny, creativity, epiphany, lyricism, modernist techniques, stylistic innovation, the sense of self, and visions of childhood.

Texts

  • Mansfield, Katherine. Stories. Introduction by Jeffrey Meyers. Vintage Books, 1991. 0-679-73374-4.
  • Mansfield, Katherine. In A German Pension. Dover. 0-486-28719-X.
  • Meyers, Jeffrey. Katherine Mansfield: A Biography. New Directions paperback NDP543. 0-8112--0834-6.
  • Dick, Susan, ed. The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0-15-621250-1 (paperback).
  • Woolf, Virginia. Jacob's Room. [1922]. Harvest Paperback, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0-15-645742-3 (paperback)
  • Woolf, Virginia. To The Lighthouse. [1927]. Harvest Paperback, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. 0-15-690739-9 (paperback)
  • Bell, Quentin. Virginia Woolf: A Biography. Harvest Paperback, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 0-15-693580-5.
  • Film: A Portrait of Katherine Mansfield. Produced by Sue Kedgley and Julienne Stretton 54 mins (Available in library.)
  • Tape: [Woolf, Virginia]. Moments of Being. 3 BBC Cassettes, 1981. (Includes unique recording of Woolf's voice.)

Requirements

Timely preparation of reading assignments, class attendance and participation, weekly reading log (30% of grade), and a substantial research paper (= 70% of grade). A reading schedule will be distributed separately.