Question: How is class conflict reflected in the story Doll's House? / Cite Central theme of the story Doll's House.

Answer: During Mansfield's time, New Zealand was a British colony. Then the society was divided in classes- upper class and lower class. This system was so strict and prejudiced that the lower classes people were ignored, hated by the others. The people of upper class did not speak to them; even they did not look at them while passing in front of them. This class and  hierarchy system controlled the society and so the behaviour and manner of upper classes towards lower classes became very downgrade. Here the writer showed how two school girls of lower class got ignored, avoided, hated by the other students and teachers. 

   At the very beginning of the story we see that Burnell children got a doll's house as a gift.This house symbolises so many significant facts. First of all, it is the symbol of upper class people who are rich like Burnell. All the descriptions of the dolls house described in the story  is related to the the rich people. The house with chimney, red carpet floor, walls with framed picture, red plush chair  in drawing room, in dining room, tables, beds with  clothes, cradle, decorated kitchen all these indicate the royalness.

   In school also the class conflict is very evident. The writer had divided students into two classes- upper class and lower class and presented them opposite to each other in manner, dressing , eating, profession. The lower class' Kelveys wore very ill-fitting dresses that were given to them by the people for whom their mother worked. For instance, Lil wore a dress made from a green art-serge table cloth of Burnell with red plus sleeves from the Logan's curtains. Also Lil got her hat from postmistress Miss Lecky. All these made others laugh at her. On the other hand, little Else wore a long white dress that looked like a night gown and a pair of boy's boots. Even their eating was very low in quality. while others had their lunch of thick mutton sandwiches and slabs of johnny cake spread with butter, Kelveys ate simple jam  sandwiches out of the newspaper.

    Besides nobody of the school even the teachers did not talk to them, accompanied them. Elders did not allow their children to speak to them. While passing in front of them they looked up high in the air. Everyone including teachers looked down upon, ignored the Kelveys. They did so because they were very poor, their mother was a washerwoman and their father was probably in jail. Even if anyone tried to accompany them or spoke to them, they were rebuked by all for breaking the custom. So the whole story showed the very clear class conflict. That was the central theme of the story.