The singing lesson

“The Singing Lesson” by Katherine Mansfield is a piece of prose that does more than merely describe a singing lesson in a music hall. One of the features of this excerpt is that it is an exploration of many ideas, the chief of which may be that a teacher’s personal life and disappointment can affect every other sphere of her life and work.

The central character and subject of this passage is Miss Meadows and through the author’s characterization, we get an insight into human nature. The prose begins with Miss Meadows trodding the corridors of the music hall with despair in her heart while the girls around her hurry, skip and flutter by. Here the sharp contrast between the fluttering girls and the trodding Miss Meadows, the feelings within oneo and the glee and excitement of the other help to heighten our awareness of Miss Meadows as a symbolic figure of isolation and despair.

Not only is there a contrast of moods between the bubbling girls and the despairing Miss Meadows but also a contrast between Miss Meadows and another character – the Science Mistress. The discourse between them conveys much in terms of different traits in human beings. Miss Meadows is bitter and full of hatred as she stares at the Science Mistress while the Science Mistress is a symbol; of artificiality as she drawls during her conversation “Good mor-ning” “win”ter” “fro-zen”. Thus the language supports the characterization of the Science Mistress. The use of a series of adjectives and nouns further emphasizes the insincerity and gloom of the Science Mistress. For example – the Science Mistress’s “sweet, affected” drawl, her “sugary smile” and “mocking light” in her eyes and the “grim” answer and quick grimace of Miss Meadows.

Having analyzed the author’s device of contrasting characters within a setting, we see how the setting (not only of the “cold corridors: that lead to the music hall but) the setting ofd the music hall itself represents Miss Meadows’ state of mind. The visual and acoustic images too are effective in emphasizing the mournful tone of the piece - “down came Mary on the opening chord, down came all those left hands, beating the air and in chimed those young, mournful voices”.

The author’s use of metaphors and similes to describe the effect the latter has on Miss Meadows is potent. Miss Meadows hugs “the knife”. The despair – cold, sharp despair is buried deep in her heart like a wicked knife. She stands there bleeding to death, pierced to the heart, to the heart by such a letter.

The unvarying monotony of the routine of the singing lesion is depicted through Mary Beazley’s motioning rather than the handing of a beautiful yellow chrysanthemum to her mistress. This is referred to as a “little ritual” that had been going on for “ages and ages” and as much a part of the lesson as opening the piano”. The implications of these lines convey the repetitive, dull motions of the class through authorial comment.

Katherine Mansfield illustrates another human trait – that of self-absorption in times of personal grief. Having pronounced the effect of the letter on Miss Meadows, the author goes on to depict the manner in which others are affected too, as a result of Miss Meadows”totally” ignoring everything and everyone around her. The manner in which her glance sweeps over the students as she looks at nobody, the way in which she assumes her students to be thinking “Meady is in a wax” and the manner in which she defies them in general is an indication of her pre-occupation with herself. Yet the effect that self enthrallment in her moment of personal despair has on Mary Beazley confirms the examination of this human tendency to neglect and ignore others at a time of personal crisis.

Miss Meadows totally ignores the chrysanthemum to Mary’s “horror”. She makes no reply to her greetings but speaks in a “voice of ice” (another metaphor that is used to illustrate Miss Meadow’s tone). Mary blushes as tears stand in her eyes. It is a “staggering moment” for Mary, but Miss Meadows was “gone back to the music stand”.

Finally, “The Singing Lesson” is didactic in conveying the manner in which moods change because of external events. The contents of the letter are heartbreaking to the extent of having the power to influence the countenance, spirit, and mood of not only Miss Meadows but eventually all those in the music hall. The choice and lyrics of the song “A Lament” express Miss Meadow’s state of mind. Thus a fine autumn morning “yields into winter drear”. The deafening noise of chatter changes into a chime of “young mournful voices”

Thus “The Singing Lesson” gives great significance to a letter and its consequent result on the moods of a series of people who are subsequently affected by that initial reaction of “sharp despair: in the heart of Miss Meadows. Therefore it is a piece of writing that reveals the author’s sensitivity and effort to successfully convey the consequences of human grief not only on the grieved (Miss Meadows) but all those she comes in contact with.

© Slow Chills