Short and Sweet. Symbolism of Strawberries in Katherine Mansfield’s Short Stories

Strawberries were the fruit that the Modernists and Modernism were very fond of. It thus should not be a surprise that strawberries also feature in Modernist prose texts of Katherine Mansfield. Although they make their appearance only in a couple of stories, and then merely for a brief moment, they should not by any means be treated as mere tiny blots belonging to the background. For when we take a closer look at them it turns out that, as is usually the case with Mansfield’s short stories, there is more to it than meets the eye. Seemingly unimportant, often unnoticed and therefore frequently underestimated, this small, sweet, red and fragrant fruit makes a significant statement in every text it is mentioned.