Aesthetics, Appearance, and Performance Theme Analysis

“Bliss” is written in a Modernist style, reflected in the focus on aesthetics throughout the story. Bertha herself is preoccupied with external appearances. Although this may come across as shallow, Bertha’s desire to make things beautiful is an attempt to express her feeling of “bliss.” Bertha is also interested in interpreting the appearance of others; as she watches guests interact at her dinner party, Bertha makes assumptions about their internal states based on their outward appearances. She assumes that, because she tries to communicate her feelings through her appearance, others are doing the same. However, events in the story contradict this assumption and Bertha is proved wrong about the motives of Pearl and Harry, whom she has assumed are loyal and innocent but who are really having an affair. Instead of trying to communicate their internal states, Pearl and Harry are in fact trying to disguise them through their outward performance. Combined with the discussion of aesthetics, theatre, and performance at the party, “Bliss” gives the reader the feeling that nothing is quite as it appears.

Bertha tries to use both her external appearance and the presentation of her home to communicate her feelings and personality to the people around her. For example, she has paid special attention to the appearance of her living room in preparation for the dinner party and has even ordered certain types of fruit to match the room’s décor. Although Bertha herself acknowledges that this does “sound rather far-fetched and absurd,” her attention to detail is in keeping with her interest in modernity and current artistic movements, which someone like Bertha, who has “modern, thrilling friends,” would likely be aware of. She is “in her present mood” of almost delirious bliss when she buys the fruit, and this suggests that Bertha is trying to communicate her internal state through her surroundings; indeed, since she has no other way to communicate her feelings of joy and beauty to others because of social constraints placed on her ability to openly express her emotions.

When Bertha sees the pear tree, which is white under the moon, “becalmed against the jade-green sky,” she thinks that this matches her outfit—“a white dress” and “a string of jade beads.” She notes that this “wasn’t intentional” but feels it is fitting because she views the pear tree “as a symbol of her own life.” This further suggests a correspondence between Bertha’s internal emotional state and her external appearance and presentation.

Although appearances initially seem to reflect reality, Mansfield complicates the concept of appearances at Bertha’s dinner party. There, Bertha misinterprets her guests’ behavior, emphasizing that not everything is what it seems. Throughout the evening, Bertha makes several assumptions about what Pearl is feeling based on the way Pearl presents herself. Interpreting the “strange smile” that Pearl gives Bertha across the table, Bertha decides that “the longest, most intimate look had passed between them,” and that Pearl “was feeling just what she was feeling.” Bertha also feels that she can read Harry’s moods based on his actions. When he offers Pearl a cigar, Bertha interprets from his manner that he is “bored” by Pearl and that he “really disliked her.” Similarly, when Harry goes to help Pearl with her coat, Bertha believes that Harry is “repenting his rudeness” towards Pearl and Bertha thinks affectionately how “simple” Harry is in some ways, like “a boy.”

Bertha’s assumptions about Harry and Pearl are wrong, however, and they are presenting themselves in this way—Harry as innocent and Pearl as friendly—with an ulterior motive. Pearl’s friendship with Bertha is possibly an attempt to get close to Harry, with whom she is having an affair, rather than a “sign” that she is in love with Bertha. This revelation highlights the idea that appearances can be deceptive and as well as Bertha’s naivety in assuming that everyone around her is attempting to be as honest and transparent as she wishes that she herself could be.

Ultimately, all the characters in the story—even Bertha—are merely putting on performances, as their appearances don’t reflect their inner states. Although Bertha describes her guests as “modern, thrilling” people, who are interested in “social questions,” they give little indication of this during the dinner, suggesting that this is merely a performance in keeping with fashion rather than a true reflection of their interests. During the party, Bertha describes her guests as a “decorative group” suggesting their superficiality and their lack of substance.

Much of the conversation at the party also notably revolves around theatre and performance—reflecting both Pearl and Harry’s performance (as a loyal friend and a loyal husband) to mask their infidelity. The idea of performance also corresponds with Bertha’s performance as a woman who is happy in her life. Although Bertha does feel a genuine sense of bliss, there are indications throughout the story that her happiness verges on desperation and hysteria. Indeed, her frequent repetition of how happy she is gives the impression that she is trying to convince herself that there is nothing wrong with her life, despite the repression of her desires and the problems in her marriage, which become obvious as the story progresses. The revelation of Harry’s infidelity with Pearl throws into doubt all of Bertha’s, and the reader’s, certainty about how the other characters feel and draws attention to the fact that, while Bertha wishes to be a frank, honest person, her own true desires are hidden beneath a veneer of respectability and her performance as a conventionally happy woman.