A Critical Analysis on the Non-equivalence Between Bertha’s Identity and Discursive Power

Abstract

Bliss is one of Katherine Mansfield’s masterpieces, which is a short story containing a large number of discourses, i.e. speeches. Previous scholars analyzed this classical novel from many perspectives, among them the discursive power is less mentioned and is worth discussing. This paper applying critical discourse analysis theory on discursive power and the interrelation between discourse and power, discusses the non-equivalence between the identity and discursive power of the heroine, Bertha, aiming to provide a new perspective to appreciate the novel and unveil the power in discourse of the novel.