Marriage a la Mode

The conflict in William and Isabel’s marriage is a microcosm exploring broader tensions between old values and new values, a common concern in Modernist literature. William embodies traditional ideals, while Isabel embraces modern aesthetics and cynicism. Through Isabel and her friends, Katherine Mansfield critiques the idea that modernity and newness are inherently progressive or good and argues that some aspects of traditional life are worth keeping. 

William’s preference for tradition is represented through his musings on their old house, which Isabel despised but he loved. He creates a cozy image of this home—“[a] little white house with blue curtains and a window-box of petunias” (3)—and he boasts about it to visitors. Though Isabel calls it a “poky little hole” and complains that it is too small for their growing family (3), his memories of domestic chaos are tinged with nostalgia. The children play happily and their toys are scattered everywhere, creating a loving scene that contrasts with their new house in the country, where the children are notably absent. His fond descriptions of the boys using household objects as toys contrast sharply with their new playthings, which are described only by their countries of origin. Additionally, their old joy contrasts with their new attitude toward William’s gifts of candy; they are bored by the same old things and have adopted their mother’s preference for the new and exotic. With this, William’s perspective offers the idea that traditional values are conducive to a happy family life, while the modern world is not.

William is sentimental and genuinely cares about his wife and family, but Mansfield also teases out the faults in his point of view. While he is convinced that they used to be happy, he completely missed Isabel’s unhappiness, indicating that even before the story’s conflict, he was not in tune with his wife’s emotions. This is rooted in prewar ideas about domesticity and gender roles; William, as a man of his era, finds solace and purpose in his work and considers his wife and two children emblematic of the ideal family life. Isabel rebels against the feminine domestic, yearning for a more cultured life. Their new life does not upend their gender roles—William still works, while Isabel does not—but it provides her with the freedom to pursue her interests. The negative aspects of William’s traditional values are likewise shown through his reactions to fellow train passengers; tucked away in a first-class carriage, he observes working-class people and thinks of them as “hysterical” and “filthy.” There is room for progress in his perspective.

Nonetheless, Isabel’s actions do not paint a positive portrait of modern life. Her “congenial people” negatively influence her behavior—her “new laugh” is derisive, and she takes a snobbish attitude toward her children’s aesthetic education. She dismisses the Royal Academy, a classical art museum in London, as uninteresting and passé, but she offers no tangible alternative for exposing her children to art and culture. Likewise, her bohemian friends spend their time eating and sleeping. Through their actions, Mansfield critiques the mindless consumption offered by an industrialized and modernized society, characterizing it as an impulse rather than something that nourishes.

In the story, modern sensibilities encourage scorn and ridicule in the face of earnest emotion, embodied in the group’s reaction to William’s letter at the end of the story. In the bedroom alone, Isabel has her epiphany and stands at a crossroads between tradition and modernity. She can choose to prioritize her husband and respond to his letter, and her feelings of shame regarding her behavior indicate that this is the right decision in Mansfield’s eyes. However, Isabel finds this course of action “too difficult”—she pursues superficial pleasure with her friends instead, marking her shift toward modernity instead.