Bliss

Like many of Mansfield’s stories, “Bliss” begins in the middle of a pivotal experience or in the middle of the action. The story doesn’t follow a narrative triangle with a defined and lengthy exposition, with rising action leading to the turning point. Instead, the story supplies the basic facts—Bertha is 30 but still naïve—and then kicks off the crucial moment. Bertha questions what happens when one literally turns the corner of their street while she also questions the figurative corner that she is turning in her developing self-awareness. She doesn’t know what to do with the deliriously happy feelings she is experiencing. We don’t know why she is feeling them, but through the in medias res device, the answers are revealed as the story unfolds.

Although the dominant literary device in this story, a unique reality is that the foreshadowing isn’t appreciated until the ending. Because of the limited omniscient narration, what is initially perceived as mere plot detail becomes revelatory when the love triangle is exposed.

In many ways—except for the most crucial—Bertha recognizes that Harry creates a persona.