Abstract:Katherine Mansfield was one of the most important short story writers in English literature, closely associated with the most acclaimed writers of the early twentieth century, such as D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce. “A Dill Pickle”, as one of her most famous short stories, tells a story about a couple who had been lovers and now meet again after six years of separation. By means of showing different types of symbols, including natural setting, animals, clothing, characters’ habitual action and the title, Mansfield conveyed the abstract state of mind or feelings of her protagonists, and hence strengthened the theme.

Since the short story came out, it has attracted much attention of many scholars and critics, who have interpreted it from different standpoints. Most of them have applied these theories, such as feminism, pessimism, modernism and so on to interpret the short story, and they usually pay more attention to the expression of character discourse, psychological features, the beauty of blank and transitivity analysis. Nevertheless, only few scholars have studied symbolism in depth.

On the basis of previous studies, this paper lays special stress on analyzing the short story from the perception of symbolism. It is made up of four parts. The first chapter briefly introduces Mansfield’s life and her literary achievements, as well as the main content and present research on “A Dill Pickle”. The second chapter focuses on symbolism through combing its main concepts, origin and development, as well as Mansfield’s application of symbolism in her works. The third chapter explores the meanings of different symbols under specific language environment and culture. This part aims to research symbolism in Mansfield’s short stories in order to explore her symbolic device along with the artistic effects of symbolism in representing and discovering the mystery of the characters’ inner world. The last one summarizes the opinion of the full text and draws a conclusion.

Keywords: Katherine Mansfield  “A Dill Pickle”  symbol

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Katherine Mansfield-1

1.2 “A Dill Pickle”-1

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 Thesis Structure-3

Chapter Two Symbolism-4

2.1 Definition and Origin of Symbolism and Symbol-4

2.2 Symbolism in Literature-4

2.3 Symbolism and Mansfield-5

Chapter Three Symbolic Interpretation of “A Dill Pickle”-7

3.1 Symbolic Meanings of the Title—“A Dill Pickle”-7

3.2 Symbolic Meanings of Flowers-10

3.2.1 Paper Daffodil-10

3.2.2 Geranium, Marigold and Verbena-10

3.2.3 Water Lily-11

3.3 Symbolic Meaning of Beast-11

3.4 Symbolic Meanings of Dress-12

3.4.1 The Symbol of Vera’s Veil, Collar and Gloves-12

3.4.2 The Symbol of the Man’s Clothes and Russian Cigarettes-13

Chapter Four Conclusion-14

References-15