Abstract

    The Fly is one of the most representative short stories created in the later period of Katherine Mansfield, which was written six years after the death of her only brother in World War I. In The Fly, the authoress demonstrated the irretrievable trauma of humanity the war foisted upon people by telling the story of the protagonist the boss's cruel killing of an innocent fly. This paper aims to emphasize the thoughtful theme of the story, the trauma of humanity, and appreciate the author's excellent character portrayal and vivid psychological description in the setting of one common day through comprehensive and detailed analysis of the background as well as its distinctive characters, that is, the boss, Mr.Woodifield and the fly.

Key words: trauma of humanity, war, death, the boss, the fly

摘 要

《苍蝇》是凯瑟琳曼斯菲尔德创作后期最具有代表性的作品之一，写于其在一战中痛失爱弟的六年之后。《苍蝇》通过讲述一位老板残忍地杀死一只无辜的苍蝇的举动，深刻揭示了战争给人性带来的不可磨灭的创伤。本论文旨在通过对故事创作背景，以及对故事中风格迥异的角色进行全面细致的分析，品位凯瑟琳曼斯菲尔德出色的人物塑造功底及无与伦比的心理描写，从而凸显人性的创伤这一主题。

关键词：人性创伤；战争；死亡；老板；苍蝇

1.    Introduction
There is no denying the fact that Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) is one of the greatest short story writers of British literature and an innovator of modern short story. With her distinguished writing styles, Mansfield has made great contribution to revolutionizing the 20th-century English short story and her achievement in it is as important as Joyce's in novel. “Greatly influenced by Anton Chechove, sharing his warm humanity, sensitive characterization and subtle choice of detail, Mansfield's best work shakes itself free of plots and endings and thus giving the story, for the first time, the expansiveness of the interior life, the feeling of poetry and the blurred edges of personality"(王军243). She is well-known worldwide not only because of her importance in literature but also of her profound insight into vivid ordinary lives with her work mainly dealing with identity, belongings and desires. Katherine Mansfield's major works are In a German Pension (1911), Bliss and Other Stories (1920), The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922). The Dove's Nest (1923) and Something Childish (1924) were published posthumously.