Foreshadowing in "The Woman at the Store"

There is a general sense of foreboding in the beginning of Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “The Woman at the Store.” Two men are introduced at the start of the novel, along with a narrator that is later revealed to be female, and they are travelling through New Zealand’s countryside. New Zealand is a country known for its starkly beautiful landscapes and has even had many movies (including Lord of the Rings) filmed there because of that unique beauty. However, as the narrator describes the land they are travelling across, she uses a dark tone that puts readers on edge. At first the clues are subtle, mostly just harsh verb choices, but then the narrator begins to reveal her own observations of the countryside with similes that are both oppressive and disturbing. Mansfield’s use of language foreshadows a specific act of violence that is not revealed until the end of the story.

The first paragraph of the story begins with a bleak description of New Zealand with the narrator describing how windy it was with a dust that “swirled in our faces, settled and sifted over us and was like a dry-skin itching for growth on our bodies” (pg. 55). She goes on to say how the “horses stumbled along, coughing and chuffing” (pg. 55). This introduction sets the tone for the rest of the story. The following narration is filled with the same oppressive words that reflects what the characters are actually feeling as they travel. Although there is no direct mention of violence between the narrator and Jim, there is a creepy moment where the narrator is sleeping and she wakes up “to find Jim leaning over [her], maliciously smiling” (pg. 57). This description of him is not followed by any abuse, but instead goes on to have the narrator feel relief as she realizes they have arrived at the house that the two men, Jo and Jim, had been discussing earlier.

When the group of weary travellers reaches the home, Jim is surprised to find that the woman he once knew has changed drastically in appearance. He had been bragging to Jo along the journey that she would be beautiful and would be willing to provide certain favors for Jo should he express an interest. As they pull up to her, the narrator writes that the woman screams a greeting at them and that “[l]ooking at her, you felt that there was nothing but sticks and wires under that pinafore—her front teeth were knocked out, she had red pulpy hands, and she wore on her feet a pair of dirty Bluchers” (pg. 58). The woman also had a daughter that was described as a “mean, undersized brat, with whitish hair, and weak eyes” (pg. 64). By describing the woman as screaming when she greeted them, the narrator portrays to the reader that this is an unusual encounter and strengthens that with the hideous description of the woman who had once been beautiful and her ugly child. When asked where her husband was, the woman “blinked rapidly, screwing up her face” and told them he was away shearing his sheep (pg. 58). Her unusual reaction to that question also foreshadows the violence later in the story.

The strange, sickly daughter had a love for drawing that she told the travellers about. Later that night, after everyone had been drinking she showed her drawings to the narrator and Jim. They “were extraordinary and repulsively vulgar. The creations of a lunatic with a lunatic’s cleverness. There was no doubt about it, the kid’s mind was diseased” (pg. 68). This dark imagery is a reflection of what the child has bottled inside of her. She later announces that she is going to draw what her mom has told her to never draw and gets smacked for it. After the mother makes her daughter sleep in the store with Jim and the narrator because she wants to hook up with Jo, the daughter draws the picture anyway to spite her. “The kid had drawn the picture of the woman shooting at a man with a rook rifle and then digging a hole to bury him in” (pg. 71). All the harsh verbs and violent undertones in the narrator’s speech foreshadowed this event. Since the woman had revealed that her husband had neglected her and was the reason that her appearance was ruined, Jim and the narrator concluded that she had killed him and left Jo in the dust as they made their escape.