UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff KKeennttuucckkyy UUKKnnoowwlleeddggee Theses and Dissertations--English English 2014 KKAATTHHEERRIINNEE MMAANNSSFFIIEELLDD AAMMOONNGG TTHHEE MMOODDEERRNNSS:: HHEERR IIMMPPAACCTT OONN VVIIRRGGIINNIIAA WWOOOOLLFF,, DD.. HH.. LLAAWWRREENNCCEE,, AANNDD AALLDDOOUUSS HHUUXXLLEEYY Nicola Anne Tarrant-Hoskins University of Kentucky, [email protected] RRiigghhtt cclliicckk ttoo ooppeenn aa ffeeeeddbbaacckk ffoorrmm iinn aa nneeww ttaabb ttoo lleett uuss kknnooww hhooww tthhiiss ddooccuummeenntt bbeenneefifittss yyoouu.. RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Tarrant-Hoskins, Nicola Anne, "KATHERINE MANSFIELD AMONG THE MODERNS: HER IMPACT ON VIRGINIA WOOLF, D. H. LAWRENCE, AND ALDOUS HUXLEY" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--English. 17. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/17 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SSTTUUDDEENNTT AAGGRREEEEMMEENNTT:: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. RREEVVIIEEWW,, AAPPPPRROOVVAALL AANNDD AACCCCEEPPTTAANNCCEE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Nicola Anne Tarrant-Hoskins, Student Dr. Jerome Meckier, Major Professor Dr. Andy Doolen, Director of Graduate Studies KATHERINE MANSFIELD AMONG THE MODERNS: HER IMPACT ON VIRGINIA WOOLF, D. H. LAWRENCE, AND ALDOUS HUXLEY ____________________________________________ DISSERTATION ____________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences At the University of Kentucky By Nicola Tarrant-Hoskins Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jerome Meckier, Professor of English Lexington, Kentucky 2014 Copyright © Nicola Tarrant-Hoskins 2014 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION KATHERINE MANSFIELD AMONG THE MODERNS: HER IMPACT ON VIRGINIA WOOLF, D.H. LAWRENCE AND ALDOUS HUXLEY Katherine Mansfield among the Moderns examines Katherine Mansfield’s relationship with three fellow writers: Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence, and Aldous Huxley, and appraises her impact on their writing. Drawing on the literary and the personal relationships between the aforementioned, and on letters, diaries, and journals, this project traces Mansfield’s interactions with her contemporaries, providing a richer and more dynamic portrait of Mansfield’s place within modernism than usually recognized. Hitherto, critical work has not scrutinized Mansfield in the manner I suggest: attending to representations of her as a character in other’s work, while analyzing the degree to which her influence on the aforementioned authors affected their writing and success. Albeit, her influence extends in vastly different ways, and is affected by gender and nationality. While Woolf’s early foray into Modernism is accelerated by Mansfield’s criticism of her work, several of Woolf’s texts – “Kew Gardens,” Jacob’s Room, and Mrs. Dalloway – are similar in certain respects to Mansfield’s work – “Bliss” and “The Garden Party.” A repudiation of Mansfield, personally, and a retelling of her work are seen in Lawrence’s The Lost Girl and Women in Love. Huxley’s Those Barren Leaves and Point Counter Point, contain characterizations of Mansfield that undermine her writing, and her person: both are affected by the mythical misrepresentation of Mansfield, created by Murry after her death, known as the “Cult of Mansfield.” Using Life Writing, this study asserts that Mansfield had impact on the writing of Woolf, Lawrence, and Huxley. Taking into account the many issues that surround the recognition of this, among them: gender politics, colonialism, marginality by genre, and personal relations – these all, to varying degrees, prevented critics from acknowledging that a minor modernist author played a role in the undisputed success of three major authors of the twentieth century. KEYWORDS: British Modernism, Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield and D.H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield and Aldous Huxley. Nicola Tarrant-Hoskins _________________________________ Student’s Signature 12/12/2014 _________________________________ Date KATHERINE MANSFIELD AMONG THE MODERNS: HER IMPACT ON VIRGINIA WOOLF, D. H. LAWRENCE, AND ALDOUS HUXLEY By Nicola Tarrant-Hoskins Dr. Jerome Meckier _________________________________ Director of Dissertation Dr. Andy Doolen __________________________________ Director of Graduate Studies 12/12/2014 __________________________________ For Roger Because I promised ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Most assuredly without the guidance and support of so many fine mentors and friends at the University of Kentucky this project could not have been completed. I am thankful to Dr. Janet Eldred, Dr. John Cawelti, Dr. Walt Foreman, Dr. Armando Prats, Dr. John Greenway, Deborah Kirkman, Andy Johnson, and Jennifer Walton who have shown immense kindness to me during my years at UK. I am grateful to my committee members – Dr. Ellen Rosenman, Dr. Jonathan Allison, and Dr. Karen Tice, for their enthusiasm for my project, and for remaining on board even when personal crises have meant that this dissertation has taken longer than most. Not only have they been exemplary mentors, but their friendship has been most appreciated. A special thanks goes to Dr. Phil Harling, my outside committee member, who has so generously given his time. I am overwhelmingly grateful and honored for the generosity of my director, Dr. Jerome Meckier, who provided me with years of mentoring and support. He has gone above and beyond all that is required of a director, and I believe this means he may now officially retire. Special thanks goes to my friend, Dr. Rebecca Huffman, for her support and gentle nudging over the years. Without her constant mantra – “you can do this” – I might not have done it. I am also grateful for my friends who have shown such love during the years in which my dissertation, by necessity, took a backseat to my family’s needs: Emily Dotson, Mark Woods, Cassie Fetters, Judi Prats, Diane and Bill Campbell, Katherine iii Rogers-Carpenter, Lisa Schroot, and George Phillips –whether it was a cooked meal, a card, or a bottle of wine, you’ve all seen me through. There aren’t words enough for my adopted family – Richard Greissman and Randolph Hollingsworth—you’ve made my second home, Kentucky, just that – home. I am forever indebted to Gary – my “behind-the-scenes” – cook, cleaner, moral support, even research assistant, above all, the person who always has my back. I’m thankful for his optimism and encouragement which pushed me to the end, and for sharing the journey – the moments of success and discovery, as well as those of doubt and failure. In this final phase, I’ve tested his love. As for my birth family… My father instilled in me a love of learning; my mother taught me endurance, and my sister, Kristi, taught me what courage looks like: these qualities have seen me through this project. I wish they were here to share this moment with me. The last promise I made to my husband was to finish my dissertation. I’ve often wished he had asked me to take a cruise, or travel the world. But he didn’t. So here I am –finally finished. And while I completed this project for Roger, I started it for my daughter, Frith, my heart. More than anything I wish to make her proud. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………… iii List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………… vi Chapter One: Introduction: New Zealand Context – Woman Alone ………………....1 Mansfield in Her Place………………………………………………………...8 Current Mansfield Studies…..………………………………………………..13 Chapters………………………………………………………………………15 Chapter Two: Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf: Unattempted……………...19 The Civet Cat –Petty & Personal Criticism…………………………………..25 The Public of Two: Spectators, one of the other……………………………..31 Influences: Conversation Set to Flowers……………………………………...35 The Genesis for “Kew Gardens” …………………………………………….40 “The Wind Blows,” and Jacob’s Room ……………………………………...42 “Bliss,” and Mrs. Dalloway…………………………………………………..45 Death Comes to the Party: “The Garden Party,” and Mrs. Dalloway………..50 Rivalry, Remorse, and Recognition…………………………………………..60 Chapter Three: Katherine Mansfield and D.H. Lawrence: Old Moorings…………...65 Literary Confrontation: Rejection, Repudiation and Retelling………………72 Katherine Mansfield as Alvina Houghton in The Lost Girl………………….76 Katherine Mansfield in The Rainbow………………………………………...88 Women in Love: Failed Ranamin……………………………………………..93 Katherine Mansfield as Gundrun: A Terrible Void…………………………102 Chapter Four: Katherine Mansfield and Aldous Huxley: The Cult of Mansfield…..115 Katherine Mansfield as Mary Thriplow in Those Barren Leaves…………..119 Background to Burlap: The Cult of Mansfield……………………………...125 Point Counter Point: The Burial of Burlap…………………………………131 Re-creating Susan: In Search of a Good Death –Gurdjieff’s Embrace……..138 Different Disciples: Mansfield, Lawrence, Huxley…………………………154 Chapter Five: Conclusion: The Taint of the Pioneer ……………………………….161 Bibliography: ……………………………………………………………………….170 Vita………………………………………………………………………………….190 v