AFFECTIVE (MIS)ENCOUNTERS IN "THE DOLL'S HOUSE" (A DISCUSSION OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD'S SHORT STORY)1

Abstract 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). my 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. my 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. The recurrence of the character Kezia in these short stories justifies her relevance for the expression of conflicts enacted from the point of view of children's subjectivity. here our main concern is to discuss "The doll's house", focusing on the characters' relationships, as exercised and constructed in terms of affective actions-both those related to negative feelings (coldness, indifference, arrogance, violence, cruelty) and those related to positive feelings (gentleness, sharing, understanding, tolerance, respect, sensibility). i assume that the most substantial meanings of the short story result from affective (mis)encounters-on the one hand, exclusion, humiliation, shame, cruelty; on the other, inclusion, complicity, warmth, and the possibility of hope. The epiphany mansfield creates in "The doll's house" articulates with such potentialities, in a double movement: on the diegetic level, in the connection promoted among the characters; and on the extra-diegetic level, since the children's experience (both negative and positive) substantially affects the reader. in general, what calls the children's attention in the characteri- zation of the house are the details responsible for endowing it with an air of realism, as for instance, the chimneys, the windows, a tiny porch, and a division of compartments that includes the drawing- room, the dining-room, the kitchen and two bedrooms: "'oh-oh!' The Burnell children sounded as though they were in despair. it was too marvelous; it was too much for them. An important fact about Katherine mansfield's life should be considered at this point. in her biography, claire tomalin emphasizes that "Kathe