The Doll's House

Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Doll’s House” was published in The Nation and Atheneum in 1922, shortly before her death the following year. Mansfield was a prolific Modernist writer who published three volumes of short stories during her lifetime. Two additional volumes, including The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories, in which the “The Doll’s House” appears, were published posthumously. Other works by this author include The Fly, The Garden Party, and Bliss.

This guide refers to the edition of the text provided by New Zealand’s Electronic Text Collection, published by the Victoria University of Wellington.

The story centers on the Burnell family, including Mr. and Mrs. Burnell; their three daughters, Isabel, Lottie, and Kezia; and Aunt Beryl. As the story opens, the family has just received a doll’s house as a thank-you gift from Mrs. Hay, who recently stayed with the family.

The house smells of new paint, which the adults dislike, but its beauty fascinates Isabel, Lottie, and Kezia. The ornately-decorated little house is unlike any doll’s house the Burnell girls have ever seen. It contains two parent dolls and two child dolls, as well as a little lamp that entrances Kezia. The sisters are eager to go to school and tell their classmates about their new gift.

Isabel, the bossy older sister, declares that because she is the oldest, she gets to tell their classmates about the doll’s house. Lottie and Kezia accept her authority. Isabel will also decide which classmates get to see the doll’s house in person. The doll’s house currently sits in the courtyard of the Burnell family home. The girls are allowed to invite friends over to admire the doll’s house, as long as the friends do not enter their home or stay too long.

Unfortunately, the sisters do not arrive at school as early as they expected to. Class will start before they have a chance to tell their classmates about their marvelous new toy, so Isabel immediately whispers to the girls near her that she has something to tell them at recess.

At recess, Isabel holds court. Her classmates compete to be her friend so they might be invited to see the doll’s house. Everyone but the Kelvey sisters thinks they have a chance to be invited.

The school is not as sophisticated as the Burnell parents would like. Because they live in a remote area, the school contains students from several demographic backgrounds. The Burnells think they are better than their neighbors, and the children of wealthier parents separate themselves from their socioeconomically disadvantaged peers on the playground.

The Kelvey sisters, daughters of a local washerwoman, are the poorest students at the school. The other disadvantaged students are pleased to have the Kelveys as an example of people who are lower than they are. Else and Lil Kelvey are ostracized by their peers, and even their teacher treats them with condescension and indifference.

Their mother, Mrs. Kelvey, goes from house to house doing laundry every day. The whereabouts of the girls’ father are unknown, but it is widely speculated that he is in prison. Mrs. Kelvey dresses her daughters in her clients’ hand-me-downs, which makes them easier targets for bullies. Lil wears a dress made from the Burnells’ old tablecloth, with a hat that used to belong to the postmistress. She looks more like a little boy than a little girl, causing people to make fun of her. Her younger sister Else is quiet and solemn, and her choice of clothes—a long white dress and boys’ boots—only exacerbates the oddness of her appearance. Else follows her older sister around, holding onto the back of her skirt. Rather than speaking, Else tugs her sister’s clothes to communicate her needs.

Like their classmates, Else and Lil are fascinated by the doll’s house, and they hover on the edge of the circle of girls listening to Isabel. Isabel continues describing the house in great detail, and Kezia insists that she describe the lamp. Kezia is more interested in the lamp than Isabel is.

Isabel invites two classmates to their house to see the doll’s house: Emmie Cole and Lena Logan, who are overjoyed. The other girls are disappointed not to have been picked first, but they continue to suck up to Isabel, knowing their time will come. Only the Kelveys know they will never be chosen.

As the days pass, more classmates are invited to see the doll’s house. During lunch and recess, the girls talk of nothing else. The Kelveys sit just within earshot of the conversation, eating food that is inferior to their classmates’ lunches.

Kezia is the only one who thinks that this arrangement is wrong, and she asks her mother if she can invite the Kelveys to see the doll’s house. Mrs. Burnell instantly shoots down her daughter’s request, and Kezia does not understand why.

After everyone but the Kelveys has seen the house, the classmates stand away from them, whispering about them. Emmie Cole starts a rumor that Lil will be a servant when she grows up. Lena decides to ask Lil about this directly, which her friends find very entertaining.

Lil and Else are worried as they watch Lena approach. Lena asks if Lil will be a servant, but the question doesn’t upset Lil. This annoys Lena, who tells the Kelveys that their father is in prison. The other girls are so excited by this little act of cruelty that they all run off to play jump rope.

When the Burnell girls arrive home, they are told to get dressed to meet visitors. Isabel and Lottie go to change, but Kezia decides to swing in the courtyard. She sees the Kelvey sisters approaching down the road. When they pass the Burnell house, Kezia invites them in to see the doll’s house. Lil is hesitant because Mrs. Burnell told Mrs. Kelvey the Burnell girls were not allowed to interact with the Kelvey girls. Kezia is confused by this and tries to persuade Lil. Else wants to see the doll’s house, so Lil concedes.

Kezia opens the doll’s house, and the girls are immediately entranced. Their admiration is cut short by Aunt Beryl, who yells at Kezia for allowing the Kelveys into the courtyard. She chases them down the road and chastises Kezia.

From Aunt Beryl’s point of view, the reader learns that she is angry because she received a threatening letter from Willie Brent, who demanded she meet him in Pulman’s Bush that evening. She feels a little better after yelling at Kezia and the Kelvey girls.

When the Kelveys can no longer see the Burnell house, they stop to take a break. The girls quietly contemplate the doll’s house, and Else tells Lil that she saw the lamp.