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Marriage a la Mode
Om livet ändå kunde vara lika enkelt som förut! Innan allt förändrades. Innan Isabel förändrades.
Solen gassar, det är lördag eftermiddag och William är på väg hem till sitt hus på landet efter en arbetsvecka i London. Han längtar efter sin fru Isabel och sina små pojkar Paddy och Johnny, men undrar om den här helgen kommer att bli likadan som de senaste ...
Scenen är 20-tal och den engelska landsbygden dallrar i sommarhettan. Bland kulörta parasoller, slånbärsgindrinkar och hedonistiska konstnärsbohemer möter vi det unga paret William och Isabel, som försöker hitta sig själva och varandra i den sköna nya värld som ligger öppen framför dem. Men förändring är inte alltid lika enkel.
Katherine Mansfield räknas som en av det tidiga 1900-talets främsta novellförfattare och en av de mest inflytelserika. Själv såg hon sitt författarskap som oundvikligt och hävdade att hon var "i första hand författare, sedan kvinna". Med sin penna utmanade hon världen och det förväntade - gärna vackert och känslosamt men alltid med den bitande ironin lurande runt hörnet."Den nya Isabel är ett litet mästerverk i novellform. Språket, den brittiska 20-talsmiljön, karaktärerna.
Solen gassar, det är lördag eftermiddag och William är på väg hem till sitt hus på landet efter en arbetsvecka i London. Han längtar efter sin fru Isabel och sina små pojkar Paddy och Johnny, men undrar om den här helgen kommer att bli likadan som de senaste ...
Scenen är 20-tal och den engelska landsbygden dallrar i sommarhettan. Bland kulörta parasoller, slånbärsgindrinkar och hedonistiska konstnärsbohemer möter vi det unga paret William och Isabel, som försöker hitta sig själva och varandra i den sköna nya värld som ligger öppen framför dem. Men förändring är inte alltid lika enkel.
Katherine Mansfield räknas som en av det tidiga 1900-talets främsta novellförfattare och en av de mest inflytelserika. Själv såg hon sitt författarskap som oundvikligt och hävdade att hon var "i första hand författare, sedan kvinna". Med sin penna utmanade hon världen och det förväntade - gärna vackert och känslosamt men alltid med den bitande ironin lurande runt hörnet."Den nya Isabel är ett litet mästerverk i novellform. Språket, den brittiska 20-talsmiljön, karaktärerna.
Unknown Binding
First published December 31, 1921
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About the author
Katherine Mansfield
999 books1,218 followersKathleen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 20, 2024
William is deeply troubled by his wife Isabel’s behaviour. He works hard all week, but ever since they moved to their new house, and Isabel acquired a new set of friends, she’s completely changed. However, she can’t see that she has, and ridicules William for saying so.
What a horrid woman Isabel is, and such shallow and despicable group of friends!
What a horrid woman Isabel is, and such shallow and despicable group of friends!
April 6, 2024
This is a masterfully crafted emotional grenade. Discomfort burrows deep as we witness the slow, agonising unraveling of a marriage. It's a story that lingers, a splinter lodged in the heart.
Mansfield paints a picture of a love suffocated. Within a breathtakingly condensed space, she builds a narrative that is as rich in character development as it is unsettling in its portrayal of human connection.
The story opens with a seemingly mundane detail: William's forgotten gift for his sons. This seemingly trivial act spirals into a potent symbol of a fractured bond. Mansfield's brilliance lies in her ability to weave immense thematic weight into the seemingly mundane. The story becomes a poignant meditation on the suffocation of love under the weight of societal pressures and a fabricated "newness." We see Isabel, transformed into the "new Isabel," obsessed with aesthetics and a curated life. This "newness" feels more like a performance, a desperate attempt to be relevant in a shallow social circle.
William, caught between the yearning for genuine connection and the stifling conformity expected by his wife, embodies the quiet tragedy of the story. His love for his sons feels genuine, a desperate attempt to hold onto a shred of normalcy amidst the artifice.
The disquiet lingers which extends beyond the confines of this specific marriage. It prompts us to question the very foundation of human connection. Are we, like William and Isabel, sacrificing emotional intimacy at the altar of societal expectations or fleeting trends? Mansfield forces us to confront the lies we tell ourselves, the narratives we construct to justify a disconnect that festers beneath the surface.
And within this discomfort lies the brilliance of the story. Mansfield creates a profound emotional impact in a mere handful of pages. Her characters, though given minimal strokes, feel deeply real. We feel anger towards Isabel's coldness, a disquiet at the erosion of genuine connection, and a deep, unsettling empathy for William's helplessness. Their internal struggles, their unspoken desires, resonate with a profound truth about the complexities of human relationships.
It is not a comfortable story, but it's a necessary one. It reminds us of the fragility of love, the constant battle between authenticity and societal pressures. It leaves a lasting impact.
Mansfield paints a picture of a love suffocated. Within a breathtakingly condensed space, she builds a narrative that is as rich in character development as it is unsettling in its portrayal of human connection.
The story opens with a seemingly mundane detail: William's forgotten gift for his sons. This seemingly trivial act spirals into a potent symbol of a fractured bond. Mansfield's brilliance lies in her ability to weave immense thematic weight into the seemingly mundane. The story becomes a poignant meditation on the suffocation of love under the weight of societal pressures and a fabricated "newness." We see Isabel, transformed into the "new Isabel," obsessed with aesthetics and a curated life. This "newness" feels more like a performance, a desperate attempt to be relevant in a shallow social circle.
William, caught between the yearning for genuine connection and the stifling conformity expected by his wife, embodies the quiet tragedy of the story. His love for his sons feels genuine, a desperate attempt to hold onto a shred of normalcy amidst the artifice.
The disquiet lingers which extends beyond the confines of this specific marriage. It prompts us to question the very foundation of human connection. Are we, like William and Isabel, sacrificing emotional intimacy at the altar of societal expectations or fleeting trends? Mansfield forces us to confront the lies we tell ourselves, the narratives we construct to justify a disconnect that festers beneath the surface.
And within this discomfort lies the brilliance of the story. Mansfield creates a profound emotional impact in a mere handful of pages. Her characters, though given minimal strokes, feel deeply real. We feel anger towards Isabel's coldness, a disquiet at the erosion of genuine connection, and a deep, unsettling empathy for William's helplessness. Their internal struggles, their unspoken desires, resonate with a profound truth about the complexities of human relationships.
It is not a comfortable story, but it's a necessary one. It reminds us of the fragility of love, the constant battle between authenticity and societal pressures. It leaves a lasting impact.
January 11, 2026
Written in the early 1920s, Marriage à la Mode shows a devoted husband who works in the city and visits his wife on weekends, at their home outside the city where the fashionable wife hosts an endless party with young poets and artists.
The style of this marriage is one where the wife is irresponsible, manipulative, and self-obsessed; the husband is besotted — and pays the bills.
Katherine Mansfield is an amazing writer. The character "Gudrun" in D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love is based on her. She had tuberculosis and died age 34, near Paris, a guest of the mystic George Gurdjieff.
The style of this marriage is one where the wife is irresponsible, manipulative, and self-obsessed; the husband is besotted — and pays the bills.
Katherine Mansfield is an amazing writer. The character "Gudrun" in D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love is based on her. She had tuberculosis and died age 34, near Paris, a guest of the mystic George Gurdjieff.
February 10, 2025
William and Isabel lived in the city with their two sons. Isabel was feeling unhappy until they moved to the country, and she spent all her time with her new bohemian friends. When William came home for weekend visits, the bohemians were living in his home and dining at his expense. Isabel was happier, but William was very upset and felt like the outsider in his marriage and in his home.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
March 7, 2025
Good but not great.
March 24, 2018
یک داستان عالی، با صحنهپردازیهای فوقالعاده. به نظر من شوک پایان داستان و افکاری که به ذهن خواننده تزریق میشد یک اثر پایدار به جا میگذارد.
-----------------------
بخشهای ماندگار:
ولی مسخره و عجیب اینکه هیچ فکر نکرده بود ایزابل ممکن است به اندازهی او احساس خوشبختی نکند. آن روزها هیچ به ذهنش خطور نکرده بود که ممکن است او واقعا از آن خانهی کوچک ناراحت و بیزار باشد، یا فکر کند دایهی چاق دارد بچهها را خراب میکند، یا واقعا احساس تنهایی کند و حسرت آدمهای تازه و موسیقی تازه و تصویرهای تازه و چیزهای تازهی دیگری را بخورد. کاش به مهمانی آن استدیو در خانهی مویرا ماریسون نرفته بودند.
...
ویلیام ماتش برد. زنش آنقدر قشنگ شده بود که فکر کرد باید چیزی بگوید. «خوشگل شدهای!»
ایزابل گفت: «خوشگل؟ فکر نمیکنم.»
...
بابی مثل بچهها پرسید: «به نظر شما بهشت هم دوشنبه دارد؟»
-----------------------
بخشهای ماندگار:
ولی مسخره و عجیب اینکه هیچ فکر نکرده بود ایزابل ممکن است به اندازهی او احساس خوشبختی نکند. آن روزها هیچ به ذهنش خطور نکرده بود که ممکن است او واقعا از آن خانهی کوچک ناراحت و بیزار باشد، یا فکر کند دایهی چاق دارد بچهها را خراب میکند، یا واقعا احساس تنهایی کند و حسرت آدمهای تازه و موسیقی تازه و تصویرهای تازه و چیزهای تازهی دیگری را بخورد. کاش به مهمانی آن استدیو در خانهی مویرا ماریسون نرفته بودند.
...
ویلیام ماتش برد. زنش آنقدر قشنگ شده بود که فکر کرد باید چیزی بگوید. «خوشگل شدهای!»
ایزابل گفت: «خوشگل؟ فکر نمیکنم.»
...
بابی مثل بچهها پرسید: «به نظر شما بهشت هم دوشنبه دارد؟»
February 26, 2024
ENGLISH: How a woman, by being a la mode, manages to destroy her marriage.
ESPAÑOL: Cómo una mujer, por ponerse à la mode, consigue destruir su matrimonio.
ESPAÑOL: Cómo una mujer, por ponerse à la mode, consigue destruir su matrimonio.
January 2, 2023
Dammade som sagt av min gamla femknapps-Kindle före jul och passade på att införskaffa den här novellen för £0.86. Av Mansfield har jag tidigare läst Miss Brill.
Gillar att den handlar om tåg och brevskrivande och London och att ta klivet ut ur tvåsamhetsnormen, eventuellt.
Nu har jag inom loppet av ett år avslutat tok-Twitter, Linkedinkan, Apple TV+, Audible och Prime. Känns befriande och bra, tänker jag och skrattar inombords det nya skrattet.
Hillo, 2023.
Gillar att den handlar om tåg och brevskrivande och London och att ta klivet ut ur tvåsamhetsnormen, eventuellt.
Nu har jag inom loppet av ett år avslutat tok-Twitter, Linkedinkan, Apple TV+, Audible och Prime. Känns befriande och bra, tänker jag och skrattar inombords det nya skrattet.
Hillo, 2023.
February 14, 2024
“[…] debo confesar que sí me parece que hay algo triste en la vida. Es difícil decir qué es. No me refiero al dolor que todos conocemos, como las enfermedades, la pobreza y la muerte. No, es otra cosa distinta. Está ahí, en lo más hondo, en lo más hondo, es parte de una, como la propia respiración. Por más que trabaje duro y quede exhausta no tengo más que detenerme para saber que está ahí, aguardando. Muchas veces me pregunto si todos sentirán lo mismo. No se sabe. ¿Pero acaso no es extraordinario que bajo ese canto tan dulce y alegre fuera justamente esta tristeza —ay, ¿cómo llamarla?— lo que yo oía?”.
June 12, 2016
Mansfield's main character in this one is fully drawn. William is deeply pained by his wife's ignoring him for her new friends, and they make fun of him. His wife really cares for him, but she loves her bohemian friends. William works all week while she lives her bohemian life. She sends the children off for the weekend when William is home, and she spends the time with her friends. The trap is set, but how or if it will snap shut and on whom are unknown until the last paragraphs.
January 5, 2021
Descubrimiento de una escritora que se revela al papel otorgado a su género y defiende su punto a través de su oficio, muy interesante.
July 17, 2023
C’est cool mais ça casse pas trois pattes à un canard
June 20, 2025
Marriage a la Mode by Katherine Mansfield – from The BBC Ultimate Story Collection - 90 Unmissable Stories
9 out of 10
Marriage a la Mode was considered to be Katherine Mansfield's homage to Anton Chekhov's "The Grasshopper" – the latter is one of my favorite writers, more importantly, his Collection of Stories is one of The Greatest 100 Books of All time https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
If we want to read the book that gives the best advice on marriage, then The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work, a classic of psychology by John Gottman, who has an accuracy rate of over ninety percent – he can tell you which couples will stay together, and which will not, after hearing just a few minutes of conversation
We can also read about the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse – Contempt, Defensiveness, Stone Walling, Criticism – in The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/07/... and see how they fit in Marriage a la Mode
Isabel, the wife, seems to fit with Contempt, for she reads a letter from her husband (who may have acted in a rather less than admirable way, but nevertheless, it is not worthy of being ridiculed, and with friends no less) and she appears to despise the content, the fact that he wrote as he went on to London and it looks offensive
Her attitude, not the man’s, he is not without blemish, and there could well be conscious and subconscious bias here, a sort of defense for the male, a possible Defensiveness, as stigmatized by John Gottman, and then there is the tendency to compare with what happens in this house here, however inappropriate it is
In her wonderful The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/... Sonja Lyubomirsky writes about ‘Happiness Activity No 3: Avoid Over thinking and Social Comparison- using strategies such as distraction to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others’
However, we do have that tendency to look at the others, in one research, they offered participants two options, having let us say 80k, while their colleagues have 60k, or much more, 120k in salary, while the rest have 140k, and what do you think humans choose, they go for the former scenario, with less money, but more than peers
In the happiest countries – the happiest has been Finland, for some years now, and you know what, one element, though not the most crucial, was the sauna, over there, they have one sauna per each inhabitant, although this is because some have two, then there are the public ones – the discrepancy between rich and poor is smaller
Influence is another classic of psychology https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/08/... by Robert Cialdini, and one of the Principles identified is of Social Conformity, ergo we look for guidance, especially in unfamiliar territory, from the other people around, which can have disastrous consequences
In one example in the book, we have the cult that had moved to Guyana, in south America, from California, to follow the leader – one like Orange Jesus, the leader of the republican party, which has become just another large group of crazies -and then they ended up committing…mass suicide, following each other’s example
Along with Social Conformity we have the Principle of Respect for Authority – in the case of the mass suicides, they took orders from the mad monster leading them, a more recent catastrophe took place in Kenya, where many died of starvation, because that is what the false prophet demanded – which is demonstrate in infamous tests
Stanley Milgram organized some incredible experiments, in which a figure of authority demands from a volunteer to ask questions, and another person has to answer, if the latter is not correct, he has to suffer electrocution, first low voltage, but as the wrong replies multiply, the voltage is going to the very dangerous levels
Furthermore, they are painful, and the victim squirms, complains, asks for help, a stop to the test, but most of the people continue, a small number decide to get out of this, when they see suffering, others express some doubts, but when the authority insists, says that this was the deal, they agreed to terms, then the suffering continues
There is a catch, for there are no real victims, the man in the ‘electric chair’ is part of the ruse, only pretends that there is an electric current and he suffers the consequences, but the ‘torturers’ are not aware of this, so they inflict pain, sometimes reluctantly, just because they are told by the figure of authority
Another aspect which was revealed by science, research is that those who are married live longer (happier, more successful lives, the two are corelated) than the divorced, but the most miserable are the ones trapped in disastrous marital relationships, for the latter, it is like going through a car crash every single day!
Marriage Italian Style https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/05/... is a comedy, a humorous look at amorous relationships, we have the spouses and a big number of children, indeed, being pregnant keeps the wife out of jail, they sell illegally, perhaps contraband goods, but with a baby coming, she is not taken in prison, only the husband, Marcelo Mastroianni, is so tired, he cannot father any more, erectile dysfunction…this is what it would be called today
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
9 out of 10
Marriage a la Mode was considered to be Katherine Mansfield's homage to Anton Chekhov's "The Grasshopper" – the latter is one of my favorite writers, more importantly, his Collection of Stories is one of The Greatest 100 Books of All time https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
If we want to read the book that gives the best advice on marriage, then The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work, a classic of psychology by John Gottman, who has an accuracy rate of over ninety percent – he can tell you which couples will stay together, and which will not, after hearing just a few minutes of conversation
We can also read about the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse – Contempt, Defensiveness, Stone Walling, Criticism – in The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/07/... and see how they fit in Marriage a la Mode
Isabel, the wife, seems to fit with Contempt, for she reads a letter from her husband (who may have acted in a rather less than admirable way, but nevertheless, it is not worthy of being ridiculed, and with friends no less) and she appears to despise the content, the fact that he wrote as he went on to London and it looks offensive
Her attitude, not the man’s, he is not without blemish, and there could well be conscious and subconscious bias here, a sort of defense for the male, a possible Defensiveness, as stigmatized by John Gottman, and then there is the tendency to compare with what happens in this house here, however inappropriate it is
In her wonderful The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/... Sonja Lyubomirsky writes about ‘Happiness Activity No 3: Avoid Over thinking and Social Comparison- using strategies such as distraction to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others’
However, we do have that tendency to look at the others, in one research, they offered participants two options, having let us say 80k, while their colleagues have 60k, or much more, 120k in salary, while the rest have 140k, and what do you think humans choose, they go for the former scenario, with less money, but more than peers
In the happiest countries – the happiest has been Finland, for some years now, and you know what, one element, though not the most crucial, was the sauna, over there, they have one sauna per each inhabitant, although this is because some have two, then there are the public ones – the discrepancy between rich and poor is smaller
Influence is another classic of psychology https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/08/... by Robert Cialdini, and one of the Principles identified is of Social Conformity, ergo we look for guidance, especially in unfamiliar territory, from the other people around, which can have disastrous consequences
In one example in the book, we have the cult that had moved to Guyana, in south America, from California, to follow the leader – one like Orange Jesus, the leader of the republican party, which has become just another large group of crazies -and then they ended up committing…mass suicide, following each other’s example
Along with Social Conformity we have the Principle of Respect for Authority – in the case of the mass suicides, they took orders from the mad monster leading them, a more recent catastrophe took place in Kenya, where many died of starvation, because that is what the false prophet demanded – which is demonstrate in infamous tests
Stanley Milgram organized some incredible experiments, in which a figure of authority demands from a volunteer to ask questions, and another person has to answer, if the latter is not correct, he has to suffer electrocution, first low voltage, but as the wrong replies multiply, the voltage is going to the very dangerous levels
Furthermore, they are painful, and the victim squirms, complains, asks for help, a stop to the test, but most of the people continue, a small number decide to get out of this, when they see suffering, others express some doubts, but when the authority insists, says that this was the deal, they agreed to terms, then the suffering continues
There is a catch, for there are no real victims, the man in the ‘electric chair’ is part of the ruse, only pretends that there is an electric current and he suffers the consequences, but the ‘torturers’ are not aware of this, so they inflict pain, sometimes reluctantly, just because they are told by the figure of authority
Another aspect which was revealed by science, research is that those who are married live longer (happier, more successful lives, the two are corelated) than the divorced, but the most miserable are the ones trapped in disastrous marital relationships, for the latter, it is like going through a car crash every single day!
Marriage Italian Style https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/05/... is a comedy, a humorous look at amorous relationships, we have the spouses and a big number of children, indeed, being pregnant keeps the wife out of jail, they sell illegally, perhaps contraband goods, but with a baby coming, she is not taken in prison, only the husband, Marcelo Mastroianni, is so tired, he cannot father any more, erectile dysfunction…this is what it would be called today
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
March 7, 2022
¿Conocían este relato? Estaba buscando una lectura corta escrita por alguna mujer y quedé muy feliz con la elección.
Sinópsis:
Al salir de su trabajo, William toma un tren que lo llevará a casa durante el fin de semana, en donde podrá ver de nuevo a su esposa Isabel y sus dos hijos ¿Suena bien no?
No tanto, desde que Isabel se ha juntado con un nuevo grupo de amigos ella ha cambiado mucho: Ya no quiso vivir en la ciudad y se llevó a los niños cerca a la playa en donde da alojamiento gratis a sus amigos "modernos".
Gratis para ella porque todo lo paga Will, los invitados se han apoderado de la casa y el tiempo de Isabel y ahora él se siente como un extraño, no sabe qué hacer...
Opinión:
Aunque el relato es corto, tiene mucha información sutil. Por ejemplo, entre los amigos encontramos a un poeta, un pintor, una... no sé, ¿socialité? lo interesante es que Will (Mansfield) no te dice que son unos vagos o unos mediocres, sino que encuentra una pintura en donde una mujer tiene un brazo más largo que el otro🤭 o que comen de los dulces de sus hijos😑 Hay muchos de esos ejemplos, incluso en el final.
Me encontré releyéndolo múltiples días, intentando entender qué había pasado para que lleguen a eso, poniéndome en el lugar de ambos. ¿Isabel cambió porque conoció a esa gente o ella siempre había querido comportarse así? ¿Cuál fue el papel de William en ese cambio?
También me llamó la atención que estos "modernos" sientan desprecio por las emociones y la vulnerabilidad, tienendo en cuenta que supuestamente son artistas, ¿tal vez es alguna corriente en específico que no sé identificar? se nota una fuerte influencia francesa en la historia que se destaca en el título orginal #MarriageALaMode.
4/5🌟
Era un 3.5 que se convirtió en 4 porque me encanta que se mencione a Titania de Shakespeare :)
Sinópsis:
Al salir de su trabajo, William toma un tren que lo llevará a casa durante el fin de semana, en donde podrá ver de nuevo a su esposa Isabel y sus dos hijos ¿Suena bien no?
No tanto, desde que Isabel se ha juntado con un nuevo grupo de amigos ella ha cambiado mucho: Ya no quiso vivir en la ciudad y se llevó a los niños cerca a la playa en donde da alojamiento gratis a sus amigos "modernos".
Gratis para ella porque todo lo paga Will, los invitados se han apoderado de la casa y el tiempo de Isabel y ahora él se siente como un extraño, no sabe qué hacer...
Opinión:
Aunque el relato es corto, tiene mucha información sutil. Por ejemplo, entre los amigos encontramos a un poeta, un pintor, una... no sé, ¿socialité? lo interesante es que Will (Mansfield) no te dice que son unos vagos o unos mediocres, sino que encuentra una pintura en donde una mujer tiene un brazo más largo que el otro🤭 o que comen de los dulces de sus hijos😑 Hay muchos de esos ejemplos, incluso en el final.
Me encontré releyéndolo múltiples días, intentando entender qué había pasado para que lleguen a eso, poniéndome en el lugar de ambos. ¿Isabel cambió porque conoció a esa gente o ella siempre había querido comportarse así? ¿Cuál fue el papel de William en ese cambio?
También me llamó la atención que estos "modernos" sientan desprecio por las emociones y la vulnerabilidad, tienendo en cuenta que supuestamente son artistas, ¿tal vez es alguna corriente en específico que no sé identificar? se nota una fuerte influencia francesa en la historia que se destaca en el título orginal #MarriageALaMode.
4/5🌟
Era un 3.5 que se convirtió en 4 porque me encanta que se mencione a Titania de Shakespeare :)
May 3, 2025
4 stars - Like a variation on Mansfield's
Prelude
(1916), the story tells of a couple where the stay-at-home wife of a commuter businessman expresses her yearning for a more fulfilling life. In "Prelude," the wife, Linda, drifts off into waking dreams, while the wife in "Marriage à la Mode" (1921) acquires a boisterous group of pretentious friends who take over the couple's house and laugh at the husband. This is a simpler and less subtle story than Prelude, and lacks the latter's simmering richness.
I am again struck by how much the concerns of Mansfield's stories present a modernist update of Jane Austen's novels. Reading the two authors at the same time becomes an exploration of "how did this story begin, years ago?" followed by "what happened next?" I'm reminded, too, of John Galsworthy's multi-generational series of novels, The Forsyte Saga (1906-1922), which shows the dramatic differences in how different generations handle romance and marriage.
I am again struck by how much the concerns of Mansfield's stories present a modernist update of Jane Austen's novels. Reading the two authors at the same time becomes an exploration of "how did this story begin, years ago?" followed by "what happened next?" I'm reminded, too, of John Galsworthy's multi-generational series of novels, The Forsyte Saga (1906-1922), which shows the dramatic differences in how different generations handle romance and marriage.
May 6, 2017
Precis innan jag skulle gå stack en kollega till mig en novell. En av kulturstödsböckerna, och hon tyckte (förstås) jag skulle läsa den. Det har jag gjort nu.
Den nya Isabel handlar om en makes oro och sorg inför att hans hustru plötsligt fått nya vänner och intressen. Han önskar det var som förr medan hon njuter av sitt nya liv. Det är en kort (så klart) men ändå grundlig historia. Jag gillade den, men jag tror jag mest av allt blev nyfiken på författaren, Katherine Mansfield. Det fanns en kort beskrivning av henne och hennes vilda liv och jag tror jag måste läsa mer av henne.
Den nya Isabel handlar om en makes oro och sorg inför att hans hustru plötsligt fått nya vänner och intressen. Han önskar det var som förr medan hon njuter av sitt nya liv. Det är en kort (så klart) men ändå grundlig historia. Jag gillade den, men jag tror jag mest av allt blev nyfiken på författaren, Katherine Mansfield. Det fanns en kort beskrivning av henne och hennes vilda liv och jag tror jag måste läsa mer av henne.
November 23, 2021
Abit of a confusing and mundane narrative. Again, seems to be about nothing or about not what you expect it to be. The mention of the children or the babies disappears near the end and we never find out his true relationship with them or their response to him. The relationship with Isobel becomes clear to be during a divorce but they have children together so meet on occasion and that causes them to reminisce about old memories of married life. Bit boring and without an actual ending
August 21, 2020
Exquis ! Une brise d'été
October 24, 2024
Un hombre que extraña la forma de ser de su esposa y odia a los nuevos amigos de ésta, una mujer que va a la iglesia como si fuera un teatro para chusmear lo que sucede a su alrededor, un hombre que ama desesperadamente a su esposa y la espera ansiosamente a que regrese de un viaje, una adolescente fastidiosa, un padre que sufre por la muerte de su único hijo, dos nenas despreciadas por sus compañeras y que ansían ver la casa de muñecas que les regalaron a las chicas Burnell (personajes del cuento La bahía), una mujer que extraña al canario que le hacía compañía, son algunos de los protagonistas de esta recopilación de cuentos.
Me encantan los cuentos de Katherine Mansfield protagonizados en general por mujeres de distintas edades y por hombres que sufren porque la mujer a la que aman no los aman tanto como ellos lo hacen. Son cuentos que retratan la idiosincrasia de su época. Algunas historias son mejores que otras por supuesto. En esta ocasión destaco La casa de muñecas que tiene como protagonistas a las hermanas Burnell del cuento La bahía, publicado por la misma editorial por separado. Me rompió el corazón el bullying al que someten a dos nenas tan solo por ser hijas de una lavandera y no tener un padre, cuya felicidad consiste en ver, tan solo ver, una estúpida casa de muñecas que les regalan a tres nenas malcriadas.
Me encantan los cuentos de Katherine Mansfield protagonizados en general por mujeres de distintas edades y por hombres que sufren porque la mujer a la que aman no los aman tanto como ellos lo hacen. Son cuentos que retratan la idiosincrasia de su época. Algunas historias son mejores que otras por supuesto. En esta ocasión destaco La casa de muñecas que tiene como protagonistas a las hermanas Burnell del cuento La bahía, publicado por la misma editorial por separado. Me rompió el corazón el bullying al que someten a dos nenas tan solo por ser hijas de una lavandera y no tener un padre, cuya felicidad consiste en ver, tan solo ver, una estúpida casa de muñecas que les regalan a tres nenas malcriadas.
Read
March 24, 2023I'm proofreading the Chinese edition of Katherine Mansfield's Marriage d la Mode and fell confused. Why refer to "nougat" as "little perfect ballet"? Is there any slang expression concerning "perfect little ballet"(thus making "it's a perfect little ballet simply an exclamatory sentence)? Or is there a kind of nougat somehow connected to ballet in 1921 ( since the book was written at that time ) ?
May 10, 2024
Skriven 1921, ännu en smått obehaglig Mansfield-historia - ett ungt pars omöjliga äktenskap, paret som alltid går förbi varandra, alltså har kommunikationsproblem, i det nya glassigt ytliga 1920-talet, maken arbetar i city (London), medan unga hustrun försöker roa sig med bohemiska vänner. Och där finns två små söner, som kommer i kläm, trots att de är materiellt bortskämda. Mansfield är lika knivskarp som vanligt.
December 4, 2025
Katherine Mansfield’s “Marriage à la Mode” follows William and Isabel, a couple who seem to be slowly drifting.
William feels out of place in the exaggerated silliness of the group, and later, when he sends Isabel a heartfelt letter, her friends mock it. He seems to long for the simplicity and warmth their relationship once had.
William feels out of place in the exaggerated silliness of the group, and later, when he sends Isabel a heartfelt letter, her friends mock it. He seems to long for the simplicity and warmth their relationship once had.
June 19, 2021
What a horrid vapid woman. Must be well written to have me hating the wife so.
January 21, 2022
J'ai adoré ! La plume de Katherine Mansfield est si juste, fluide et belle. J'ai hâte de me procurer d'autres œuvres de Katherine Mansfield.
April 3, 2024
I liked the characters but the story was too short and therefore boring as a whole
December 30, 2024
💔 Heartbreaking
January 26, 2025
An examination into whether wealth changes human beings. Wonderful depth portrayed in the male protagonist.
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