The Class Differentiation In Mansfield's A Cup Of Tea

The society consists of a group of social powers which can either be religious in nature or political like certain governments or even class based; all of which predicate and perpetuate certain unwritten and written laws and aesthetic rules that are created very much for their own interest. A natural order of power does not exist rather it is the one that is created by humans and this interpretation of the so called ‘hierarchy’ is merely an interpretation of power. In literary terms, this leads to a sense of ‘Othering’.

Sometimes the marginalisation happens to such an extent that after categorisation the upper class look at those who are outside the system and wonder who these beings are. The difference of class is even seen in art and literature as stories usually revolve around an upper caste men and women, the lower caste lives are usually not represented in their historical or aesthetic elements. The number of works that are written for or by the lower strata has only started to increase presently.

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‘A Cup of Tea’ is a story setting takes place in the early 1922 back in London which showed the terrible condition of New Zealand when it used to be a British colonial. This problem was quite a noticeable issue as class discrimination was at its peak during that time and this story focused on the class consciousness and distinction as well as one’s mad fondness towards material objects. Materialism is a concept that is usually followed by the upper caste as they are the ones that want more and it isn’t the usual ordinary things they demand, mostly it will be those rare, priceless little possessions.

The writer creates the characters in such a way that they symbolises how the men and women of those times were. Rosemary Fell is the typical upper class woman who is ignorant, superficial, indifferent and flashy whereas Philip Fell is the representation of the dominating male in the society. Miss Smith, on the other hand, has an image of a kind yet scared girl. This is the classic character of a lower caste as they are usually seen to be compassionate but they lived in fear because in those times they would have to face severe problems if they are seen mingling with an upper caste. It is this fear that caused the girl to ask if Mrs Fell was taking her to the police station.

Mansfield in her story shows a strong differentiation between the upper class using Mrs and Mr Fell with the lower class. In the story, the little, blue, velvet box symbolises the materialistic nature of Rosemary Fell who represents the upper class whereas the cup of tea symbolises the equality and kind, caring and sharing nature of Miss Smith who represents the lower class. It starts off by saying that Mrs Fell isn’t exactly pretty but she tries to be, which shows how she considered physical appearance more important than soul beauty; a concept that prevailed during that century. Mrs Fell is portrayed as an extremely privileged but shallow and spoiled ‘lady’ who is indifferent to anybody who, according to her, is below her status. She is awfully rich and wouldn’t mind spending more for satisfying her wants. This is clearly understood from the line “if Rosemary wanted to shop she would go to Paris as you and I would go to Bond Street”. Just like this, the fact that she was indifferent is clearly seen when she goes about ordering people to get her flowers and to carry her things around. She knows that because of her privileged status she can go around ordering people below her status because they ought to listen and obey her. This is one of the ways the upper class can put down the lower class to the position that the upper class constructed.

She demands everything that is of her fancy but the ultimate approving authority is her husband, Philip. The two things of her fancy in the story are the velvet box and Miss Smith; both of which has a sole purpose to fulfil. The box that can be acquired using money and the girl using a cup of tea, both are meant only to create an image of Rosemary who is all kind and considerate. The box would has shown how wealthy and well off they were and the girl would show the kindness that Mrs Fell tried to showcase which in reality she lacked.

This class discrimination and subordination is shown through many instances like how people fawn over her and get her things done or how she can’t believe that there exist people with no money because she has never associated herself with them neither does she truly care about them. This is her first encounter with a lower caste and she is really excited to show Miss Smith all of the amazing things in the world only because she knows that everyone will be amazed of her great deed. This is the only reason why she does all these; no actual care or concern is shown by Mrs Rosemary as she is seen to be dropping the hat and coat on the floor without actually bothering to hang it. This act can also be interpreted in the sense that Rosemary does not think of Miss Smith as her equal. She even calls Miss Smith as “the other” and herself as “the little rich girl”. The upper caste never considered the lower strata as their equals and sometimes it would go to the extent where they would even be objectified. This is what happens in the story; Rosemary considers Miss Smith as a little present that Rosemary discovered and she is impatiently waiting to uncover her personality.

It is not just Rosemary that shows this indifferent nature but her husband as well. He wasn’t interested on having a lower caste inside his house. At the beginning he tried to reason with his wife telling her that they can’t keep her and that she can’t always be responsible for everything the girl does. When she didn’t seem to agree, he decided to play on her jealousy and that did the trick. Contradictory to its simple title, the story talks about a concerning issue regarding class consciousness and the materialistic nature of the upper caste. Despite being filthy rich, she is unable to be happy and the only question that is bothering her is whether she is pretty or not. The upper class is not satisfied with what they have whereas the lower learns to accept and live with it.