A Dill Pickle
Katherine Mansfield
About the Author
Katherine Mansfield
An outstanding short story writer. She was born in
Wellington, New Zealand in 1888. She studied at
Queens College, London, where she met D.H.
Lawrence and John Middleton Murry, a famous critic,
whom she later married. After years of ill-health and
struggle as a freelance writer and reviewer, she
achieved success with Bliss and Other Stories (1920)
and The Garden Party (1922). Just as she won world
fame, however, her health grew worse. She died of
tuberculosis in 1923.
About the Author
Katherine Mansfield
Critics praised her for her capturing the
essence of Chekhov’s art for stories
emphasizing atmosphere and actual life
rather than exciting plot, and for her
“refreshing originality” and “sensitivity to
beauty”.
About the Author
New Zealand's most famous writer, who was closely
associated with D.H. Lawrence and something of a rival of
Virginia Wolf. Mansfield's creative years were burdened
with loneliness, illness, jealousy, alienation - all this
reflected in her work with the bitter depiction of marital
and family relationships of her middle-class characters.
Her short stories are also notable for their use of stream of
consciousness. Like the Russian writer Anton Chekhov,
Mansfield depicted trivial events and subtle changes in
human behavior.
About the Text
Main Idea
This is a story about a young man and a young woman
who had been lovers once and now meet again after six
years of separation, and as they reminisce, we begin to
know what happened six years ago that finally led to the
end of their relationship. In the story, the author artfully
points up Vera, the heroine’s sensitivity and the man’s
insensitivity to others— their feeling, attitudes and
motivations,and the man’s self-involvement.
About the Text
Word Study
 egoist: n.
a person who is always thinking about themselves or what
is best for themselves.
egoism n.
egoistic/egoistical adj.
 luxury n.
sth that is expensive and enjoyable, but not essential,
e.g. a luxury hotel/flat; live in luxury; live/lead a life of
luxury
luxurious adj.
About the Text
Word Study
 exasperate: n.
annoy, vex, irritate very much,
e.g. She was exasperated at/by his stupidity.
 haunt: vi.
to visit (said of ghosts) regularly;
Here: to return repeatedly to the mind,
e.g. a haunting melody
About the Text
Word Study
 maniac n.
(1) mad person;wild and foolish person
(2) (derog or joc) person with extreme liking
(for sth)
e.g. She’s a football maniac.
maniacal adj : violently mad; extremely enthusiastic
e.g. maniacal behavior, a maniacal expression on his face
 air n.
appearance, manner, carriage,bearing
e.g. She set about her task with an air of quiet confidence.
About the Text
Word Study
 grimace n.
an ugly twisted expression on the face to cause laughter or
to show pain,disgust,etc
e.g. Bernie gave a grimace of disgust and left the room.
grimace vi ~ (at sb/sth)
e.g. She grimaced in/with distaste a the thought of it.
 pagoda n.
religious building on Asia, usu a tall tower with several
stories each of which has its own overhanging roof
About the Text
Word Study
 infuriate: vt.
make sb extremely angry
e.g. I was infuriated by/with their constant criticism.
It infuriated me to think of the money we’ve wasted.
infuriating adj. very annoying
e.g. It was infuriating to be so close and get unable to
contact them.
 melancholy: adj.
very sad,causing sadness
e.g. A funeral is a melancholy occasion.
About the Text
Word Study
 impulsive adj.
(of people or their behavior) marked by sudden
action that is undertaken without careful thought
e.g. an impulsive man, comment, decision
In a burst of impulsive generosity, I offered to pay.
impulse n. (on impulse)
impulsive adj.
impulsion n.
impulsiveness n.
About the Text
Word Study
 barbarian: n.
a person who is primitive or uncivilized
barbaric/barbarous adj.
barbarism n.
barbarity n.
 decorate: vt.
to put things in a room or house to make it more beautiful,
e.g. We decorated the Christmas tree with tinsel lights.
decorator n.
decorative adj.
decoration n.
About the Text
Word Study
 loathe: hate sth very much
Expansion: the synonyms of a word which are
in meaning, e.g.
to dislike (to loathe); to like (to adore); small (tiny);
big (huge, enormous, immense, colossal);
sure (positive); possible (probable);
to surprise (to stun; to shock); angry (furious);
hungry (famished); tired (exhausted);
pleased (overjoyed); interesting (fascinating);
many (numerous); fine (excellent; superb);
poor (destitute); old (ancient)
About the Text
Word Study
 mysterious adj.
1. full of mystery; hard to understand or explain,
e.g. a mysterious event/crime
2. Keeping or liking to keep things secret
e.g. He was being very mysterious ,and wouldn't tell me
what he was up to.
mystery n.
mysteriously adv.
 self-engrossed adj
occupied with one’s own thoughts or interest; paying no
attention to anything other than one’s own business
About the Text
Expressions
 peel an orange:
take off the peel of an orange
to peel potatoes; to husk the rice; to shell the peas;
to wed the garden; to skin a cat; to gut the fish;
to dust the tables
 You were saying:
an expression used to encourage someone you just
interrupted to continue to speak
 this thick of his:
more emphatic than “ his trick”,
e.g. “ look at that son of yours,” the husband shouted
at his wife, “ he stinks!”
About the Text
Expressions
 for all: in spite of all,
e.g. (1). For all our efforts, we still couldn't’t save his life.
(2). For all his power,he is still the most despised
person.
 out of all proportion to the occasion:
(1).completely uncalled for; totally unnecessary under the
circumstances
(2).a reaction, result, emotion, etc that is out of proportion is
too strong or great, compared to the situation in which it
happen.
e.g. The fear of violent crime has now out of proportion to
the actual risk.
About the Text
Expressions
 find one’s place in life:
to find a successful career
 apart from:
some distance away from
compare: Apart from (Besides) these reasons, there
is yet another factor.
 mournful lover:
sad lovers whose greatest wish is to die together
About the Text
Sentence Paraphrase
 1. But now,as he spoke,that memory faded. His was the
truer. (para 15)
But now, as he spoke, that memory about the ridiculous
scene gradually disappeared. After all, his memory was the
truer one. They did have a good time on the whole that
afternoon.
 2. He had lost all that dreamy vagueness and indecision.
Now he had the air of a man who has found his place in
life.
At that time, the man was much younger, full of
dreams,very unpractical, very unclear about what he
should do with his life. But now he looked like a man sho
has found a successful career.
About the Text
Sentence Paraphrase
 3. As he spoke,…she felt the strange east that had
slumbered so long…hungry stare upon those
places.
 “ The strange beast” probably refers to her longcherished wish to travel to all those distant and
mysterious places. It had been hidden deep in her
heart for quite a long time because it was
impossible for her to realize it given her financial
and health conditions. But now this old wish
seemed to be suddenly awakened.
About the Text
Sentence Paraphrase
 4. Only I did desire, eventually, to turn into a
magic carpet and carry you away to all those lands
you longed to see.
a) magic carpet: The allusion comes from the
story in the Arabian Nights which describes how a
magic carpet can carry people wherever hey wish
to go.
b) Once again we see the other side of the man. He
can sometimes say beautiful things.
About the Text
Sentence Paraphrase
5. As he spoke she lifted her head as though she
drank something; the strange beast in her bosom
began to purr…
She had just heard something which was so
comforting and refreshing that she felt good. Her
long buried love for the man seemed to wake up
again.
In-class Discussion
Questions on Comprehension & Appreciation
1. What was Vera and the man’s relationship six year’s
ago?
2. What happened to Vera and the man respectively during
the past six years?
In-class Discussion
 Read for Details:
1. “She smiled, he frowned.” Why? (para. 2)
She smiled because she was very glad to see her old
friend. He frowned because he could not place her.
He could not recall where he had met this women
before.
Read for Details
2. What could Vera have seen in the man
that made him not without attraction? (para
30)
For one thing, he was young, energetic, most
likely good looking. And he could sometimes
say things that were extremely touching to
Vera.
Read for Details
3. Why do you think Vera sold the piano?
(para 42)
There seems to be only three possible reasons: One, she lost
interest because there was no one to appreciate her music;
Two, she had to go from place to place, chasing after warm
sunshine, and therefore found it impossible to carry the piano
with her; Three, she was financially hard up and needed
money.
Read for Details
4. “You are not going?” (para 53)
a) Why did Vera suddenly begin to
unbutton her collar again and draw down
her veil?
b) What had the man said to hurt her
feelings?
Read for Details
Possible Answers
4. (a). It indicates that Vera was going to leave.
(b). The ma said “It seems such ages ago” whereas it was
only 6 years, showing that he had practically forgotten
everything about their past love; The man also said that he
had to take such a leap to that time, showing again that he
had ceased to cherish that memory. What hurt her most
however, was the way he described how he couldn't help
laughing the other day when he read her last latter again,
the letter she must have found it very difficult to write six
years ago. He practically treated the whole thing as a joke.
In-class Discussion
Read for Details-Question
5. “It simply was that we were such egoists,
so self-engrossed, so wrapped up in
ourselves that we had not a corner in our
hearts for anybody else.” Is this a pretty
accurate description of the man himself? Do
you think Vera is just like the man?
Read for Details
Possible Answers
5. It is just a pretty accurate description of the
man himself. He is making an important
confession: he really has not a corner in his heart
for anyone else. Therefore Vera was right to leave
him 6 years ago and she is also right to leave him
now.
After-class Questions
• 1. Why does Vera’s relationship with the
man end the way it did? Is it a natural
development? Why or why not ?
• 2. Do you agree with that both he and Vera
are such hopeless egoist that they haven’t a
corner in their hearts for anybody else?
The End