MASTERCLASS
Learning a lesson
TO READ THE STORY writ.rs/thesinginglesson
Helen Walters looks at some of the things writers can learn from music with an example short story by Katherine Mansfield
T
his
month’s story, ‘The Singing Lesson’ by Katherine Mansfield, is about a singing mistress in a school taking a lesson. But as we read on, the story raises questions of who is being taught what, and how. As always, you will benefit most from this masterclass if you read the story for yourself: writ.rs/thesinginglesson
The story starts with our main character, Miss Meadows, in despair. Note the analogy of an actual physical attack with a knife which has left her ‘bleeding to death’. Notice the repetition of the word ‘sharp’ in the opening paragraphs. It is used in many contexts, from a description of the weather to an illustration of a way of movement and, in each instance, it serves as a reminder of the sense of injury.
In the opening paragraphs we see Miss Meadows contrasted with another teacher, known only as the Science Mistress. Where Miss Meadows is seemingly sour (another connotation of sharp) the Science Mistress is almost impossibly sweet with her yellow hair and sugary smile.
The theme of music, as underlined by the title, is important. The author uses hyphens to draw out the syllables of words both in the ‘drawling’ speech of the Science Mistress and the song of the schoolgirls. From the elongated ‘win-ter’ of the conversation between the two women, to the even more drawn out ‘wi-i-nter drear’ of the song, this adds to the rhythm and musicality of the writing.