Katherine Mansfield's "The doll's house" (2000) constitutes the object of the present discussion, which aims at tracing the relations among the characters, focusing on their affective actions - both those linked to negative affects (coldness, arrogance, violence, cruelty) and those related to positive affects (gentleness, sharing, understanding, tolerance, sensibility). Our hypothesis is that the most substantial meanings of the short story derive from (mis)affective encounters - on the one hand, exclusion, prejudice, humiliation and cruelty; on the other, complicity, respect, acceptance and inclusion. Our analysis will be supported with literary theoretical principles and with social theory discussions on the "affective turn", so as to argue that this narrative dramatizes new possibilities of perception and action.
modern short story; Katherine Mansfield; affect; children