Katherine Mansfield: In a German Pension

This is a collection of short stories published in 1911 and it is Mansfield's first published book. I have mixed feelings about it, since I like her writing style, which is very pre-modernist and minimal, but struggled with its crude cynicism. Most of the stories are written in first person and describe the affectations of the German bourgeoisie at leisure, as seen by the author during her stay at the Bavarian spa town of Bad Worishoven. The voice that comes through is that of a very modern and independent woman, who questions the conventions that she witnesses among the other guests. But the voice is also very bitter and sarcastic, with never a kind word for any of the characters. It's an effective portrayal of the emptyness and snobbery of those around her, who are constantly patronizing the young writer (like the Professor does in The Modern Soul, for instance), and who end up seeming stupid as the events take their course. The Sister of the Baroness, for example, tells of the guests' delight to hear that an aristocrat is going to honor their pension by sending her daughter to stay, and of their dismay when they realize that the Baroness's "sister", who they have idolized, is only a servant. The narrator, who is always extremely polite, quiet and meek is actually not very subtle in mocking these Germans, who are so wrapped up in class differences and yet can't tell a noble from a common servant. Mansfield's look on marriage and motherhood is sour, as well. Her opinion on men appears especially negative, considering their oblivion to the pain of child-bearing, in At Lehman's, or their vulgar nature, in The Swing of the Pendulum. Not that the women seem much better, especially with their weekness-turned-falseness towards men (the cruel and cold Elsa in A Blaze), and with their hardness towards one another. Mansfield is often quite funny in her wry observations, and even the titles and names she gives to the characters are ironic, such as The Advanced lady. One story that stands out is The-Child-Who-Was-Tired. In other stories we witness the desperate fall of any moment of hope or kind thought, but this tragic narrative is the only one in which bitterness is mixed with true compassion, making it a real gem. I've never read anything else by Katherine Mansfiled and would certainly like to, as I did appreciate the collection, and especially since the author herself in later years considered the book "nothing to be proud of" because of its youthful bitterness. And I have found in other authors that the first works are more cynical, as though the bitterness of youth at the realization that not all in life goes as it should weren't yet softened by a deeper understanding of and compassion toward human nature.