Marriage a la Mode

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1921

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Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

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Literary Devices

Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an object or a person is compared to an unrelated thing to highlight certain qualities. In the story, there are a few metaphors: William imagines “one of Isabel’s young poets lapping up a slice [of the children’s fruit]” (1). Here the word “lapping” compares the poets to animals, characterizing them as irresponsible and uncivilized. Another important metaphor is William reflecting that “Isabel was that rose-bush, petal-soft, sparkling and cool. And he was still that little boy” (2). Isabel’s beauty transports him back to his childhood garden, where he used to shake a rosebush after the rain. Thus, his ideal of Isabel and their love is childlike and innocent.

The story also uses simile, a metaphor that uses “like” or “as” to make the comparison more explicit. One simile in the story is “one bird drifted high like a dark fleck in a jewel” (2). This sentence creates the image of an imperfect jewel, highlighting the tension between the beautiful countryside and the alienation William feels there due to his wife’s friends. In another simile, Moira Morrison says that Isabel is “like an exquisite little Titania” (3), meaning that she is as dainty and graceful as the Queen of the Fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Moira also wears “a bonnet like a huge strawberry” (4), which is a ridiculous image and foregrounds her frivolous personality.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition consists of putting two elements side-by-side to illustrate and evoke meaning from the contrast. Structurally, the narrative juxtaposes William’s point of view and Isabel’s to deepen the emotional conflict between the characters. Foregrounding William’s perspective reveals his earnest character—his memories of his wife reveal that he is deeply in love and that he is trying his best to provide an adequate home for his family, though he looks back fondly on their life in the city. His generosity—he finances his wife’s bohemian lifestyle and, by extension, her friends’—is juxtaposed with their ingratitude and rude behavior, which extends to them gossiping about him within earshot. By providing this positive characterization of William, Katherine Mansfield leaves Isabel’s cruelty unambiguous when she switches perspectives. In response to her husband’s earnest letter, which she calls a love letter, she laughs and insults him with her friends. This mean-spirited frivolity is immediately juxtaposed with Isabel’s epiphany that she is behaving cruelly, though this revelation is not enough to change her behavior for good.

Personification

Personification consists of attributing human aspects to objects of nature. In “Marriage à la Mode,” the passage about the landscape shifting from city to countryside is an example of personification: “[T]he fields, the sky, the sailing bird, the water, all said, ‘Isabel.’” (2) Here, all the elements of the landscape speak Isabel’s name aloud, reminding William of his beloved wife. This has two effects: centering Isabel in William’s life, and situating the family’s move to the countryside as her wish rather than his.

Another instance of personification occurs at the end of the story: “[Isabel] felt that even the grave bedroom knew her for what she was, shallow, tinkling, vain…” (8). This happens during Isabel’s epiphany, when she realizes she has been treating William poorly, and she feels her shame so deeply that it surrounds her, taking form in the room she is in. The figurative language here allows Isabel to view herself and her friends honestly for the first time in the story, giving her a window into the truth.

Platitude

Another figure of speech used in the story is platitude. A platitude is a statement that is trite and obvious. In “Marriage à la Mode,” the writer Dennis Green utters a few platitudes, characterizing Isabel with uninspired titles that describe her actions: “A Lady in Love with a Pineapple” (4), or “A Lady reading a Letter” (7). In one scene, he declares that Moira is “A Lady with a Box of Sardines” (6). Answering Bobby Kane’s childish question about Heaven, he says, “Heaven will be one long Monday” (7). These statements characterize Dennis as someone excessively preoccupied with superficiality. Nonetheless, he delivers them with gravitas and self-importance, characterizing him as ridiculous, pretentious, and ultimately, fake.