The Singing Lesson

by Katherine Mansfield

Miss Meadows, a singing teacher, bustles into school one day in bad temper. Upon encountering her colleagues and young students, she is cold, bitter, and reproachful. But what could have brought out this sudden irritation and resentment in Miss Meadows?

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Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

25 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp) was a prominent New Zealand modernist writer of short fiction who wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield.

Katherine Mansfield is widely considered one of the best short story writers of her period. A number of her works, including "Miss Brill", "Prelude", "The Garden Party", "The Doll's House", and later works such as "The Fly", are frequently collected in short story anthologies. Mansfield also proved ahead of her time in her adoration of Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov, and incorporated some of his themes and techniques into her writing.

Katherine Mansfield was part of a "new dawn" in English literature with T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. She was associated with the brilliant group of writers who made the London of the period the centre of the literary world.

Nevertheless, Mansfield was a New Zealand writer - she could not have written as she did had she not gone to live in England and France, but she could not have done her best work if she had not had firm roots in her native land. She used her memories in her writing from the beginning, people, the places, even the colloquial speech of the country form the fabric of much of her best work.

Mansfield's stories were the first of significance in English to be written without a conventional plot. Supplanting the strictly structured plots of her predecessors in the genre (Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells), Mansfield concentrated on one moment, a crisis or a turning point, rather than on a sequence of events. The plot is secondary to mood and characters. The stories are innovative in many other ways. They feature simple things - a doll's house or a charwoman. Her imagery, frequently from nature, flowers, wind and colours, set the scene with which readers can identify easily.

Themes too are universal: human isolation, the questioning of traditional roles of men and women in society, the conflict between love and disillusionment, idealism and reality, beauty and ugliness, joy and suffering, and the inevitability of these paradoxes. Oblique narration (influenced by Chekhov but certainly developed by Mansfield) includes the use of symbolism - the doll's house lamp, the fly, the pear tree - hinting at the hidden layers of meaning. Suggestion and implication replace direct detail.

Reviews

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Mansfield never ceases to amaze me. How she can, in such a short story, create such a vivid character with a depth of emotion that many writers could not match in a 500 page novel.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story, as the opening line makes it clear, is a case study of inner turmoil. The author is concerned with studying how sadness and despair caused by something undesirable affect the mind and the body of an individual. The opening line of the story 'With despair - cold, sharp despair - buried deep in her heart like a knife' sets the tone for the story. The words 'cold', 'sharp', 'knife' point out clearly how deeply affected Miss Meadows is after she has read her fiancé Basil's latest letter. Miss Meadows is treading the 'cold corridor' to the music hall. This itself shows how her poignant pain is. Her mood of desperation has a negative effect on the girls in her music class. This is noticeable by the choice of song that Miss Meadows tells the girls to sing - a lament. Everynote of that song appears to be a sigh, a sob, a groan of awful mournfulness.

The plot is very simple. A despairing music teacher, Miss Meadows, has to start her class, but she has just received a letter from her fiance who has expressed his inability to carry on with her affair with her saying that he is an unmarrying person. Unable to bear the desperation, Miss Meadows changes what she had prepared for the classes and asks the students to sing the saddest song, 'A Lament' while she plays the piano. She leads her students through the sad song all the while thinking of her , fiance Basil. Here "every note was a sigh, a sob, a groan of mournfulness" Soon a telegram from Basil is sent to Miss Meadows, asking her to apologize him. The teacher comes back to the class smiling and asks the students to sing another song, happy and sweet, without explanations, as if nothing happened. The story ends on a happy note with Miss Meadows releasing her utmost tension and singing joyously. The shift in the mood of Miss Meadows shows that for her appearance is more important than reality. She appears to be happily married, ever though Basil does not love her.

A major theme of the story is the theme of reliance and appearance. As the story unfolds we learn that Miss Meadows aged thirty is five years older than Basil, who is twenty-five. In those times thirty was viewed as old, when came to a woman getting married. Perhaps Miss Meadows is fully aware that if her engagement with Basil is called off, she may never again get the opportunity to marry. She is on this ground reliant on him to marry her. Miss Meadows begins to believe that if marriage does not take place, she may have to leave the school, her job.

This brings in the theme of appearance. If she leaves the school, what will be her fate?

Miss Meadows is concerned about how she will appear to others (the Science Mistress and the girls in her class) now that Basil has called off their engagement. Quite evidently she feels embarrassed by the fact that she is to remain single.

Mansfield also explores the theme of desperation. Miss Meadows is not concerned by how much (or little) may Basil love her, as she reflects 'I don't mind how much it is. Love me as little as you like'. It is quite evident that Miss Meadows is prepared to settle for (and marry) a man who may not love her at all. It would appear that Miss Meadows is desperate to get married again. It is possible that she fears how she will be perceived by others should she remain single.

Knowing that Basil does not love her, she gets excited at the end of the story on receiving Basil's telegram. This suggests that appearance is more important to Miss Meadows than whether Basil really loves her.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Singing Lesson" has a structure made so that two events flow perfectly along together, and each event has depths of its own and deepens the meaning of the other. That the two events are Ms. Meadows leading her girls choir and Ms. Meadows going through a very rough hour in her romance makes Ms. Meadows the exact focus and balancing point of both the streams of interest. The language is exact and lovely, the characterization made amazingly deep by Mansfield's insights and the focal power of Mansfield's structure.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opening lines:
With despair—cold, sharp despair—buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife, Miss Meadows, in cap and gown and carrying a little baton, trod the cold corridors that led to the music hall.

You may read online at Biblioplept.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Дмитрий · Rating 5 out of 5]

Хотя история охватывает только один момент из жизни героини, Кэтрин Мэнсфилд удалось нарисовать всю блеклую картину будущего ГГ с таким женихом. Отличная история.

[Falyn Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the commentary on grief and loss of a relationship this short story provides. I love how the mournful and relatable feeling of hollowness reflects within a broken woman, (who was perfectly portrayed in my opinion). The singing lesson is noteworthy and relatable for anyone who has gone through heartache, and the qualms of an unnoteworthy life.

[Andreashide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de mis autoras favoritas. Cada uno de sus cuentos es una revelación, por la manera de presentar los personajes y abrir al lector un universo de emociones y pensamientos de maneras inéditas e impactantes. Todas sus historias son maravillosas. Mi favorita fue Felicidad.

[amy! · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

men are just so pathetic sometimes

[Henrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ela tem uma escrita sensível, muitas vezes melancólica (do jeito que eu gosto), mas também bastante descritiva (do jeito que eu não gosto). Acho que ela tem uma boa capacidade de arremate do conto. O desfecho de "Feuille d'album" é impagável, o de "Veneno" é excepcional. Um conto brilhante, essencialmente psicológico, meu favorito dessa seleção, é "Um pepino em conserva". Alguns dos seus contos parecem crônicas, e seriam classificadas assim caso isso existisse na Nova Zelândia.

[Paola]

- la lezione di canto
- sulla baia
- la donna del magazzino
- sun e moon
- la "garden party"
- la mosca
- la piccola istitutrice
- mezzo scellino
- storia di un uomo
- il vento soffia
- prendendo il velo
- "feuille d'album"
- la bimba
- "dill pickle"
- la giornata di reginaldo peacock
- rivelazioni
- veleno
- istantanee
- psicologia

[Sinta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine Mansfields characters are astounding. I am always taken aback at the pang she evokes in me - there is always a point of sudden, deep empathy. She gets to the core of being human

Here, it is that universal experience of deluding yourself into sacrificing your own contentment to do something that will allow you to hold on to the respect of others

[Sharone Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this short story, Katherine Mansfield vividly illustrates the tie between emotion and music. A music teacher's emotions change abruptly in one day and the music she chooses for her young students to sing is a clear reflection of her thoughts and feelings. What a delightful tale!

[Marcele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is really delightful, a great short story. But I couldn't avoid to feel bad for the poor girl having their singing lesson.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note stonate impercettibili nascoste in sinfonie grandiose. Storie che scorrono via lasciando una scia nera. Personaggi (stra)ordinariamente tossici. Magistrale.

[Joy Gutiérrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un cuento cortito sobre una maestra de canto que, tras recibir una agria carta de su prometido, llega al colegio donde trabaja de mal humor. Mientras imparte su lección, hay un monólogo interno en el que expresa los pensamientos y emociones que le han causado leer esa carta. Escuché el audiolibro (¿audiocuento?) con un excelente narrador. Jamás había leído/escuchado nada de Katherine, pero quedé impresionada con el ritmo, su forma de escribir y cómo le dio en tan pocas páginas una gran profundidad a la protagonista. Fue breve pero sustancioso. 🫶🏼

[Elephanthefy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un cuento conmovedor de los altibajos del amor y la angustia de sentirse abandonado por aquel que amas. Mansfield muestra una historia de esperanza y desilusión a través de los ojos de la señorita Meadows, cuya clase de canto se convierte en un escenario para su propio tormento interior.
Me encanta porque, aunque sea un relato corto, podemos sentir la tensión en el aire y percibir la esperanza y la desesperación en el corazón de la señorita Meadows

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Miss Meadows begins a practice lesson with her girls school choir, she is mired in misery - her heart broken, and so unexpectedly too. The music she chooses this day reflects her emotions perfectly.
Short but speaks volumes!

[Alyssa Vanskyock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Liked the intercepts going between her inner dialogue and what she is doing in reality. Not too sure why this was included on a playlist of scary stories though...

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed the language in this short tale. It is quite precious writing.

[Mommy's lil gal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Mansfield was such a phenomenal writer I could say. She lived only for 34 years, hope she could have lived more and amaze readers more.

[⋆˚࿔ ashmita ࣪ ִֶָ☾. · Rating 1 out of 5]

🙄

[belu · Rating 3 out of 5]

basil homosexual

[Renata Silveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for my English Literature class, and 'til now it was my favourite of the lot.

[gayatri · Rating 4 out of 5]

katherine mansfield the woman u are

[Gregoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un bonito cuento, lleno de palabras hermosas y también de sentimientos, sería bueno no involucrar los problemas personales en el trabajo ya que afectan a los demás.

[˙⋆.˚ ᡣ;ᴀɴɴÉ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the narrative and vibrant gloominess of protagonist. That tells a lot of the message lying in The Singing Lesson. A 4.8 for me!

[Azzurra Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Ed ecco immediatamente il tradizionale "accecante bagliore, accompagnato da assordante frastuono. Immensi rottami nell'aria (confesso ch'io amo i rottami)...e quando le dense nubi di fumo dileguano..." Ma questo non potrà mai accadere; e io non potrò mai vederlo. Sarà trovato in fondo al mio cuore "intatto", come dice (...)-
da Storia di un uomo

[Smita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Music teacher's personal life impacts her lesson and, by extension, her students. Her romantic ordeal changes her perception of the music she teaches: self-absorption in times of grief causes one to ignore one's public persona.