This 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
