The Transcendental Selves of Women Characters in Katherine Mansfield’s “At the Bay”: The Case of Linda

No one possesses the necessary talent to deconstruct a woman’s character rather than a woman herself. Katherine Mansfield’s fame in this area exceeds by far that of most of her predecessors and contemporaries alike. When reading “Prelude” and “At the Bay”, for instance, some significant hints unveil themselves. Female characters are no more on the land; they spiritually transcend to their self-constructed worlds. This paper takes as its hub Linda Burnell, the main female character in “At the Bay”, attempting to disclose how this woman is configured. Besides, it tries to come across why she is always absent though present next to the available ways of transcending earthly life.