1. A Cup of Tea
Katherine Mansfield

2. A Cup of Tea
Setting: Anything material or immaterial that influences the action of the story.
Material- Where and When
Immaterial- A set of ideas prevalent at that time
Give an example of how the setting of a story can influence the action of a story.

3. A Cup of Tea Ideal---Standards The story is set in England
Beginning of the 20th century
People from different social classes did not socialize with one another.
It was considered improper for upper class women to work outside of the home.
Ideal---Standards

4. A Cup of Tea
Mansfield short story focuses more on the emotions and psychological make-up of her characters.
Emotional states, subtle shifts of mood, and epiphanies
Flatter
Snob
Patronize
Vanity

5. A Cup of Tea
“In Mansfield’s stories, characters are often splits or doubles of a single personality; mirror images abound, reflecting a multiplicity of queens, dream, and pervasive fears.” Her writing, “… attempts to reveal her attempts to liberate herself from these conflicts and especially from the prevailing role and image of woman.”
Marie Jean Lederman, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism Vol. 2
“The Man”

6. A Cup of Tea
“Rosemary Fell, the smart, affluent, but insincere young woman of A Cup of Tea damns herself… through avidity for an exciting experience which feeds on another’s misery.”
Saralyn R. Daly, Katherine Mansfield (79)

7. A Cup of Tea
“Rosemary is artificial, idle, insensitive. The contrast between the five pounds she reduces to three as a gift to the penniless girl and the useless but pretty twenty-eight guinea box she asks of her husband reveals her selfish materialism. But the final detail of her exposure dwells on her insecure vanity, the real reason for dismissing the young woman whom her husband called ‘astonishingly pretty…absolutely lovely.’” 80

8. A Cup of Tea ANSWER IN YOUR JOURNAL
Why did Mansfield write A Cup of Tea?
What were Rosemary’s motives for helping Miss Smith?
How does the setting directly influence the story?
List three examples of Rosemary’s vanity.