THE LITTLE GIRL

Theme
The title of the story refers to the main character who is a little girl named
Kezia. The theme of the story is the relationship between children and their
parents and the writer Katherine Mansfield wants to tell us that children
share a very important bond of love with their parents. Although when
children are young, they feel that their parents love them because their
parents are strict and many actions of the parents seems unjustified. But as
children grow up, they realise that all the acts done by their parents were
beneficial for them. The parents were concerned for them and beneath the
strictness lies a heart full of love for the children. And this bond of love
between parents and their children has been highlighted through this story.

Summary of The Little Girl

‘The Little Girl’ is the story of a little girl, Kezia who misunderstood her father’s strictness
and usually remained scared of him. She kept a distance from him, whenever he would
be at home. She considered him to be as big as a giant. She would often get nervous
and stutter while talking to him. She longed for his love and affection and wanted her
father to be like her neighbour, Mr Macdonald.

Once she was kept indoors as she was affected by cold. Her grandmother suggested
that she make a gift for her father’s birthday next week. They decided that Kezia would
make a pincushion for him. Kezia made a beautiful pin-cushion; but she accidentally
made a mistake. She filled it with bits of paper that she got by tearing her father’s
important speech. She was punished for that. This incident further estranged Kezia from
her father.

She would often look at her neighbours, Macdonalds playing joyously in their lawn. Mr.
Macdonald was such a good father and played so lovingly with his children. She
wondered he might be a different sort of father.

Once her mother fell ill and was hospitalized. She was left alone at home under the care
of the cook. At night she had a nightmare and woke up screaming. She found her father
standing by her bedside. He picked her up and took her to his room. He tucked her up
in his bed and soon fell asleep. Kezia felt secure lying near her father. She realized that
her father was not as big as a giant. She felt the beating of her father’s loving large
heart. Finally, she realized her father was very loving and had a generous heart.

II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?

Answer:
Kezia was afraid of her father because he was very strict. He used to talk to her harshly.
He was in a habit of finding out her mistakes.

2. Who were the people in Kezia’s family?

Answer:
Kezia had her mother, father and grandmother in her family.

3. What was Kezia’s father’s routine

(i) before going to his office?

(ii) after coming back from his office?
(iii) on Sundays?

Answer:
(i) Before going to his office, Kezia’s father would go into her room to give her a casual
kiss.
(ii) After coming back from his office, he would ask for newspaper and tea.
(iii) On Sundays, he would stretch out on the sofa. He would cover his face with his
handkerchief, put his feet on one of the cushions, sleep soundly and snoring.

4. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father
better?
Answer:
Kezia’s grandmother wanted that the little girl to bond with her parents.
Therefore, every Sunday afternoon she would encourage Kezia to go
downstairs to the drawing-room, have a nice conversation with them, and
get to know them better. She also suggested Kezia make a pin-cushion out of
a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a gift for her father’s birthday.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did
this happen?

Answer:
Kezia efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him. On every Sunday, her
grandmother sent her down to the drawing room to have a nice talk with her father and
mother. But her father always got irritated with her. He used to call her 'little brown owl'.
One day her grandmother suggested her to make a gift of a pin-cushion on her father’s
birthday. Kezia stuffed her pin-cushion with papers. But the sheets she had torn and
filled in the cushion were her father’s speech for the Port Authority. He scolded her and
punished her by hitting her palm with a ruler.

2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr
Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?

Answer:
Mr. Macdonald was a loving father. He would play with his children. He would put the
baby Mao on his shoulders. Two girls would hang on to his pockets. He would run round
and round the flower beds laughing. He was very nice and friendly with his children. He
was just opposite to Kezia's father. He never punished his children. He played with them
whenever he was free. Kezia’s father, on the other hand, never played with her. He
always looked angry and harsh.

3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?

Ans. One day, Kezia’s mother was taken ill and went to the hospital. Grandmother too
accompanied her. Kezia was left alone with the cook, Alice to look after her. At night,
Alice put Kezia to bed but Kezia was reluctant to sleep without her grandmother as she
would go to her in case she got scared by a nightmare. Alice put Kezia to sleep all alone
and ordered her not to scream and disturb her father who was asleep in the next room.
But she was again scared by the nightmare of a butcher with a knife, a rope and a
dreadful smile. Kezia screamed and called her grandmother. Upon hearing her
screams, her father woke up. He was holding a candle and lifted Kezia in his arms. He
took her to his room and comforted her. He lay Kezia in his bed and told her to rub her
feet against his legs to make them warm. Kezia felt his affection and snuggled towards
him. At that moment, Kezia realized that her father worked really hard and he was a
tired poor man who needed sympathy and concern. There was no one to look after him.
Although he was big and not as soft as grandmother, Kezia realized that he loved her,
and she had affection for him.

Write a short note on the relationship between Kezia and her father
Answer:
Initially, the relationship between Kezia and her father was formal and
restrained. As a strict disciplinarian and the head of the family Father
asserted his authority over everyone, including his little girl. Every morning,
before going to office, he perfunctorily kissed her and she as formally said,
“Goodbye, Father.”

She was made to take off his shoes and put them outside when he returned
from office in the evening. He often scolded her for her sad looks and for
stuttering. He even punished her when she unknowingly tore his important
papers. He did not give her even one chance to explain herself and failed to
see her loving intention behind the mistake. As a result, Kezia feared her
father and stayed out of his way.

However, their relationship underwent a drastic change towards the end of

the story. Father displayed his love and concern for his daughter when he
and Kezia were alone and she was scared by her nightmare. He carried her in
his arms to his room, tucked her comfortably in his bed, lay down close to
her and provided to her the assurance and security that children seek from
parents. This protective, caring and considerate side of her father helped her
understand him. She realised that he had a big heart which was full of love
for her.

Question 2.
Do you think the Kezia deserved the beating she got for her mistake? What
light does this incident throw on her father’s character?
Answer:
Kezia earned her father’s wrath for tearing his speech for the Port Authority
to stuff a pin-cushion she was making for him as a birthday present. When
Father discovered that Kezia was the culprit, he punished her by beating her
little pink palms with a ruler to teach her not to touch what did not belong to
her.

I think it was too harsh a punishment for an innocent mistake of a fond

daughter who was making a gift for her father. Undoubtedly, the papers were
extremely important for him and their loss must have caused him a lot of
inconvenience but he should have heard out Kezia’s explanation, and
understood and appreciated Kezia’s intentions. A firm but gentle reprimand
would have sufficed to teach the sensitive Kezia not to touch things that did
not belong to her. This incident shows that Father was a very insensitive and
harsh man who demanded a very high standard of discipline from his
daughter and did not tolerate any disobedience.
 ASSIGNMENT

1. Draw the character sketch of the following characters.

a. Kezia

b. Father

c. Mr. Macdonald

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