“A Cup of Tea,” by Katherine Mansfield

         A Cup of Tea by Katherine Mansfield we have the theme of jealousy, insecurity, materialism and class. Taken from her The Doves’ Nest and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Mansfield may be exploring the theme of class or rather the differences between social classes. By telling the reader that ‘they were rich, really rich, not just comfortably well off’ Mansfield succeeds in not only highlighting to the reader how wealthy Rosemary and Philip are but more importantly she manages to highlight how different Rosemary is from others. Something that is a little clearer when Mansfield also tells the reader ‘if Rosemary wanted to shop she would go to Paris as you and I would go to Bond Street.’ Though it may appear to be insignificant the fact that Rosemary has a car may also be important as by introducing the car into the story it is possible that Mansfield is further highlighting the class difference that exists between Rosemary and those around her. At the time the story was written only the very wealthy (mostly upper class) would have had the resources to buy a car.

           It is also interesting that Rosemary thinks it is ‘extraordinary’ that Miss Smith has no money. This would again suggest that Rosemary is different from other people. She can’t imagine that somebody would have no money. By describing Miss Smith as the ‘other’ when Rosemary leads Miss Smith into the hall of her home and Rosemary as being like ‘the rich little girl in her nursery’ Mansfield may be further highlighting the difference in class between both Miss Smith and Rosemary.

            Mansfield may be further highlighting how different Rosemary is from other people (due to her wealth) and how extravagant she is. Rosemary’s change of attitude towards Miss Smith after Philip tells her that he thinks Miss Smith is pretty is also interesting. It is from Philip’s remark that the reader realises not only is Rosemary jealous of Miss Smith (because she is pretty) but she also appears to be insecure about her own physical appearance. How insecure Rosemary may feel about her physical appearance is further noticeable by the fact that after Miss Smith leaves Rosemary’s home,