'HER FIRST BALL' by
Katherine Mansfield
Modify this summary of the short-story
A
young girl called Leila has come to the country to stay with her parents. As
the story opens, they are coming back from a ball. Leila is very excited: this
is her first ball. Once there, she is both sad and terrified. After dancing
with several old gentlemen, she dances with a balding man who has been coming
to balls since he was 30. He tells her that she will never be sitting upon the
stage with the young chaperones, full of envy for the elderly ladies. For a
moment, the magic of the occasion is spoilt. Then another young woman asks
Leila to dance, and her worries disappear.
Detailed comprehension
T/F? Justify by writing down the exact quotation.
(39/8) This
is the first time Leila has been to a ball.
(40/18) Leila is a lonely child.
(40/28) On arriving, the girls rush to the
'Ladies' to check their appearance
(42/1) Leila
lives in the city while her parents live in the country.
(42/10) Boys and girls stand at two opposite
sides of the dance hall.
(42/24) A small, dark-haired man is the
first man to write his name on Leila's programme.
(43/2) The
fat man asks Leila whether it is the first time she has been there.
(43/8) Leila
learnt to dance at a dance school.
(43/31) She prefers to dance with a girl
because she is used to it.
(44/4) Leila
has the impression her first partner is boring.
(44/26) All men always break the ice by
describing the dance-floor.
(44/28) Her partners are just as thrilled as
she is.
(45/2) Her
second partner buys her an ice-cream in the dance-hall.
(45/9) The
old man seems better-off than her previous partners.
(45/19) Leila's new partner started to dance
when she was twelve.
(45/24) She pities the man and never mocks
him.
(45/29) He then starts to portray her a few
years from now.
(46/15) The old gentleman manages to
frighten her.
(47/2) It
doesn't take long for her to forget the trouble his words caused her.
Who's who in this story?
Write down a
few words to characterise each of them. You can quote from the text
Leila is
The Sheridan
girls are
Meg, Jose and
Laura are
Laurie is
This story
takes place in New Zealand at the turn of the century.
What about the places Leila actually goes to during the
story?
Put them back in the
right chronological order.
Be careful some of them are only 'mentioned' and not actually 'visited' in the
course of the short-story...
a cab 1-.............................................
M /
V
her cousins'
home 2-.............................................
M /
V
Leila's home 3-.............................................
M /
V
the dance-hall 4-.............................................
M /
V
the ladies'
rest-room 5-.............................................
M /
V
the pavement 6-.............................................
M /
V
the stage 7-.............................................
M /
V
the
supper-room 8-.............................................
M /
V
Who says what to whom?
(39/8) 'Have
you really never been to a ball before, Leila?'
(40/13) 'Look here, darling' he said.
(41/14) 'Powder my back, there's a darling'
(41/17) 'Pass them along, pass them along'
(42/13) 'This is my little country cousin
Leila'
(42/6) 'May
I have the pleasure?'
(42/34) 'Oh please, don't bother'
(43/21) 'Ours, I think _______ '
(44/25) 'Floor's not bad'
(47/6) 'Pardon'
a tall, fair
man to Meg / a young lady to another young lady/ her last partner to the old
man/ Laurie to his cousin/ Leila to her old partner/ Meg to other girls/
someone handing programmes to the girls/ the first partner to Leila/ the second
partner to Leila/ The Sheridan girls to Leila
Narrative technique - Which is which?
"Come on
girls, let's make a dash for it," said Laurie.
"How did you know,"
"I want
to stop," she said in a breathless voice.
"Ours, I
think _____"
... listening
to the baby owls crying "More pork" in the moonlight ...
Exactly when
the ball began Leila would have found it hard to say
He steered so
beautifully.
Leila had
learnt to dance at boarding-school.
Oh, how
quickly things changed!
Strange voices
answered, "Of course, my dear."
narrative, direct speech, free direct speech, free indirect
speech, semi-indirect speech
Vocabulary in 'Her first ball'
39-2 the cab = le taxi
39-9 weird = insolite
40-2 a fan = un éventail
40-8 gave her a pang = lui pinça
le cœur
40-11 a keepsake = un souvenir
40-14 Twig? = Tu piges?
40-28 Let's make a dash for it! = On
fonce!
40-34 The noise was deafening = le
bruit était assourdissant
40-34 two benches = deux bancs
41-1 white aprons = des tabliers
blancs
41-7 it leaped almost to the
ceiling = s'éleva presque jusqu'au plafond
41-8 patting their hair = tapotant
leurs cheveux pour les applatir
41-9 bodices = corsages
41-10 gloves = des gants
41-12 hairpins = des
épingles à cheveux
41-27 tuning = s'accorder
41-31 shy = timide
42-4 she clutched her fan = elle
saisit son éventail
42-5 golden floor = le plancher
doré
42-6 gilt chairs = les chaises
dorées
42-10 chaperones = les
chaperons
42-20 glossy hair = les cheveux
brillants
42-23 gliding over the parquet =
glissant, planant
42-24 a joyful flutter = une
agitation joyeuse
42-25 he scribbled sthing = il
griffonna qqchose
42-27 an eyeglass = un monocle
42-28 a freckled fellow = un garçon
couvert de taches de rousseur
42-30 bald = chauve
43-8 a boarding-school = un
pensionnat
43-15 her long white wand = sa
longue baguette blanche
43-18 to faint = s'évanouir
43-21 someone bowed =
salua / fit une révérence
43-23 her waist = sa taille
43-27 slippery = glissant
43-31 he steered = il menait / il
guidait / il dirigeait
43-33 girls banged into each other =
elles se cognaient / se heurtaient
and stamped on each
other's feet = se marchaient sur les pieds
44-10 a relief = un soulagement
44-14 blissfully =
merveilleusement / béatement
44-15 the swing-doors = les portes
battantes
44-18 a wink / to wink = un clin
d'œil
44-21 he coughed = il toussa
44- 21 a waistcoat = un gilet
44-22 a thread = un fil
44-24 spring from the ceiling =
surgit du plafond
44-29 thrilling = excitant,
palpitant
44-32 mournful = lugubre
44-33 solemn = solennel
45-3 her cheeks burned = ses joues
étaient en feu
45-9 he looked shabby = il était
pauvrement vêtu / mis
45-10 creased = froissé
45-11 dusty = couvert de poussière
45-13 to clasp her = l'étreindre
45-18 he wheezed faintly = il
respirait comme un asthmatique
45-27 he pressed her closer = il la
serra de plus près
45-27 he hummed a bar of the waltz =
il fredonna une mesure de la valse
45-33 to shudder = frissonner / frémir
46-3 your heart will ache = cela
vous brisera le cœur
46-12 a great sigh = un profond
soupir
46-15 a breathless voice = une voix
essoufflée
46-18 leaned against the wall =
s'appuyait contre le mur
46-20 a pinafore = une robe-chasuble
46-21 spoiled it all = avait tout
gâché
46-21 and sobbed = et sanglotait
46-27 the bandmaster = le chef
d'orchestre
46-33 with curly hair = aux cheveux
bouclés
47-1 stiffly = avec raideur
47-1 haughtily =
hautainement
47-3 glided = glissait / planait
47-5 bumped into = heurta