A Cup of Tea Is A Short Story by Katheri

A Cup of Tea is a short story by Katherine Mansfield that was first published in 1922.
Katherine Mansfield is an eminent modernist short story writer who was born on October 14,
1888 in New Zealand. In 1903 she moved to London where she attended Queen’s College
with her sisters. She was an avid contributor to the college newspaper. She loved the culture
and life of London but had to return to New Zealand in 1906. By this time she had decided to
become a professional writer and had started writing short stories. However, she did not like
the provincial life of New Zealand and decided to return to London. In London she came in
contact with modernist writers like D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. Her life in London,
her emotional experiences and her reading of Oscar Wilde and Russian writers especially
Anton Chekov had a significant impact on her work. Her short stories were published in
journals like the New Age and Rhythm. She also published five volumes of short stories
before she died of tuberculosis at the age of 34. Some of her most popular collections are: In
a German Pension, Prelude, Bliss and Other Stories, The Garden Party and Other Stories,
The Doves’ Nest and Other Stories.
A Cup of Tea was first published in a journal called Story-Teller and later appeared in the
collection called The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories. It revolves around Rosemary Fell, a
young and affluent woman living in London in the 1920s. Rosemary meets a poor girl called
Miss Smith outside the antique shop. The girl begs for money so that she can have a cup of
tea. Instead of giving her money, the wealthy lady brings her to her house and treats Miss
Smith to tea. Rosemary’s husband disapproves of her association with a poor woman of the
streets and tells her so. But, when she refuses to dismiss her he plays on her feelings of
jealousy and insecurity in order to send the girl away. He tells her how pretty Miss Smith is.
The tactic works and Rosemary sends the girl away. In the end she asks her husband, “Am I
pretty?”
The author presents the affluence of Rosemary by describing her life style. She wore the best
dresses, hosted the finest parties, dined with the most important people and shopped from the
best stores of Paris and London. She could buy whatever she wanted and spend any amount
of money on the things she liked. Her dealings at the flower shop and the antique shop reflect
her attitude. While buying flowers, she says, “I want those and those and those...” At the
antique store, the man is more than happy to please her because of her social status. He is a
shrewd man who knows how to win customers and persuade them into buying things. He
compliments her for her taste and presents expensive objects before her on her visits to the
store. Rosemary is also aware of the power she wields over people because of her wealth. The
material possessions are very important to her. When she is not able to buy the little enamel
box because she thought it was too expensive, she feels very dejected and sad.
She is so absorbed in her gloom that she does not even notice the poor girl who comes to beg
for money. When the girl asks for money to have a cup of tea, she is startled to know that the
poor woman has no money at all. She couldn’t conceive of a situation in which one was
impoverished and had no money at all. She comes across as a wealthy woman who is distant
from the ground reality.
Instead of giving the girl money, she decides to take her home. She does not do it out of
compassion for the poor but to experience the situation which she feels was straight from a
novel. Rosemary decides to play the role of a gracious host to the poor girl and displays no
compassion or consideration for her situation. She wanted to boast of her generosity before
her friends and showcase her affluence in the garb of kindness to Miss Smith. The poor girl
was surprised and scared at Rosemary’s hospitality while Rosemary was enjoying playing her
part of a charitable host. The incident highlights the vanity and shallow values of the rich.
The story also highlights the gulf between the rich and the poor. Where on one hand
Rosemary only removes her gloves to hold delicate objects like the enamel box, Miss Smith’s
bare hands are trembling with cold. A wealthy woman like the protagonist indulges in all the
luxuries of life like buying expensive clothes and flowers, for a poor Miss Smith even tea is a
luxury.
Moreover, when Rosemary’s husband Philip sees a poor and destitute young woman in their
house he disapproves of it. This is indicative of the class consciousness of the English
society. Philip wants her to send the girl away as he does not find it appropriate for a person
of their social stature to associate with the poor. He tries to persuade her to ask her to go.
When the direct attempt fails, he plays on her feeling of insecurity. He tells her that he finds
Miss Smith astonishingly pretty. She becomes insecure of her position and decides to send
her away. After Miss Smith leaves, she makes her hair, darkens her eyes and puts on her
pearls and asks her husband “Am I pretty?” This depicts the idea that women are supposed to
conform to conventional standards of beauty and constantly please the male gender. Their
only identity is in context of the male. They are denied an independent existence. They have
no say in decision making and no individual voice. Moreover, Rosemary knows that it is
through her looks and submissiveness that she can hold on to her place in her husband’s
home. Thus, Mansfield highlights the subordinate position of women in the society and also
explores the psyche of women in such a society.
In a simple manner, Mansfield presents the theme of class consciousness, the gulf between
the rich and the poor and materialism prevalent in the society. The author uses satire and
irony to attack the elite strata of the society.
She presents her female characters with a deep psychological insight. She vividly presents the
psychological state of her characters though the use of symbols. The rainy weather when
Rosemary comes out of the antique shop depicts her gloomy state of mind. Her dressing up
after sending Miss Smith shows her insecurity. Her constant consciousness about her looks
and attire represents her desire to conform to the social conventions of beauty. The author
uses the limited third person point-of-view in the story to present the workings of the
protagonist’s mind.
Like her contemporary modernist writers, Katherine Mansfield breaks from the traditional
modes of writing. She does not use the conventional plot structure. Her narrative spans a day
in the life of the protagonist Rosemary Fell and she uses the stream of consciousness
technique to presents the psyche of her protagonist.

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A Cup of Tea is a short story by Katherine Mansfield that was first published in 1922.

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