Katherine Mansfield – A Dill Pickle (Bliss and other stories)

 Katherine Mansfield – A Dill Pickle (Bliss and other stories)

Katherine Mansfield, often compared to Chekhov, is renowned for her short stories that emphasize atmosphere and real life over exciting plots. Her work is praised for its originality and sensitivity to beauty. One of her most significant masterpieces, "A Dill Pickle" (1917), is based on her own experiences. After ending her early marriage in 1909, Mansfield fell in love with Francis Hayman in 1910, but their relationship ended due to his family's disapproval of her divorce. Despite hoping for a reconciliation when she became pregnant, Mansfield faced loneliness and eventually aborted the child. Six years later, they met again in a restaurant which inspired her to write a short story.

Katherine Mansfield’s story "A Dill Pickle" highlights the differences between a man and a woman who were once lovers and meet again after six years. The story follows Vera, a sensitive young woman, and her encounter with a self-centered man who had been her lover six years prior, highlighting the changes and lost love over the years. The story shows how their communication styles reveal their differing personalities and the breakdown of their relationship. Vera, the woman, is sensitive, delicate, and deeply affected by the man’s insensitivity and self-centeredness.

"A Dill Pickle" explores themes of loneliness, disillusionment, and a passive, doubtful attitude towards love. Set in a café, various objects like Vera's elegant dress and the man's exotic tastes symbolize their characters and social statuses.  Vera’s decent dressing suggests her weak health and middle-class social status; the Japanese vase, the bamboo table, and cigarette case shows the Man’s unusual taste; the warm afternoon on which various flowers came into blossom tells the happiness of Vera; while the darkening Vodka river, mysterious Black Sea, and the melancholy tress indicates the worsening sentiments of Vera.

The Dill Pickle, the preserved vegetable as a piece of snack, comes up twice in the text - first in the Man’s recollection and then in Vera’s imagination. Although Vera doesn’t see the pickles in person, she is so sensitive that she can feel the bright colour and the sour taste of the pickles all out of her intuition.  The dill pickle represents their lost love, once vibrant but now dull and tasteless. Mansfield uses Vera’s inner thoughts to express her complex feelings about their past relationship, filled with both affection and bitterness. The man’s constant talking and reminiscing about their plans, particularly a trip to Russia, contrasts with Vera’s quiet reflections and growing realization that he hasn’t changed.

Over the years, while Vera has faced hardship and struggled, the man has found success but remains self-absorbed. His failure to understand or notice Vera's feelings emphasizes his egoism. Vera finally decides to leave him again with him “sitting there, thunder-struck, astounded beyond words”. It reflects Mansfield’s view on love, showing her disappointment and disillusionment with men and the idea of true love, comparing it to the tastelessness of preserved pickles. The story suggests that egoism and poor communication are key reasons for the failure of their love. With the stream of consciousness, characters of the heroine and the hero are more than alive.