The Fly

                                     KATHERINE MANSFIELD 

                           
                             
 
                                                        Question # 1
                  Who was Woodifield? Why did he come to see the boss?

                        Woodifield was an old man who was living a retired life. He used to visit the boss who was his friend. Woodifield suffered from serious sort of diseases that’s why his wife and daughters kept him locked up in the home except at the Tuesdays when he was allowed to go to the city and see his friends. His family didn’t even let him drink lest it should do some irreparable harm to his health. At that day he was sitting in boss’s office and was very impressed of the new setting of his office. He praised the new furniture, carpets and the heating apparatus. He even called the office as a very comfortable place. The attitude of the boss was also very peculiar, as he loved to hear his things praised specially by the old Woodifield. The boss was five years older than Woodifield but he enjoyed a good health while Woodifield’ health was really in a precarious condition. He wanted to tell the boss about something but his old brain was unable to recall it. The boss offered him whiskey that was dangerous for his life. He said ruthlessly that a spot of whiskey would help him recall all that he had forgotten… and indeed the whiskey warmed up his brain enough that he recalled what he was to tell the boss. He told him that his girls had been to Belgium to visit the grave of his son who was killed in the war with the boss’s son. The girls told that the Belgian government kept the graveyard nicely. This made the boss very sad and dejected as it reminded him of the untimely and tragic death of his own son.

                                                                Question # 2
                                          What was the tragedy of boss’s life?

                      The boss was a thriving man who had a very successful business. He worked very hard to establish and flourish his company. He had a son who was a very charming boy and all the efforts and hard work of the boss was for him. He wanted to develop his business for his son’s sake and expected him to step into his shoes soon. He actually brought him to his office and the boy started learning the work. The boy was a brilliant learner and he understood the work very quickly. Moreover his attitude was extremely friendly to all the people. Every one liked him and had high hopes for his future. But then the war started and all the young men had to go there. So the boy of the boss also went to Belgium with British troops and unluckily he could not come back. He was killed in Belgium and was buried there. It was the greatest shock of the boss’s life who could never even think of any such possibility. It was impossible for him to imagine any life without his son. His grief had no bounds and he started crying even by thinking about him. He had claimed that the time could never curtail his grief. That day when Woodifield had talked about his son’s grave visited by Woodifield’s daughters the boss was overwhelmed with grief and he wanted to cry but he was astonished to realize that he could not cry. He looked at the boy’s picture; even then he could not shed a single tear. The time is of course a healer and it unobtrusively tramples over all human woes due to its profound velocity.
          “ Wars are the trade of kings” who solely opt for their own vested interests and regard the common people as merely the fuel for war. The boy was the most treasured entity for his father but in the war he was killed like a fly by the immoderate ambitions of politicians. The aspirations, hope and planning of the boss were erased from the world like a useless word written by a senseless little kid. So death of his dear son was the tragedy of the boss’s life and it corresponds to the title of the story fully.

                                                               Question # 3
                                          What did he do to the fly and why?

                          When Woodifield had gone out, the boss tried to recall his son and cry but he was unable to weep. He was dejectedly thinking about his sad condition when he saw a fly that had been dropped in a broken inkpot and was desperately trying to come out. The inkpot was slippery and the little fly could not climb up. The boss seized a pen, picked the fly out of the ink, and shook it onto a piece of blotting paper. The fly remained still for fraction of a second but soon its legs started to wave slowly. The fly started drying itself, it took hold and waved its wings. It was about to fly when the boss had an idea and dropped a large drop on the newly cleaned minute body of the fly. The fly was absolutely intimidated, stunned and afraid to move because of what would happen next. But then very painfully it dragged itself forward. The process of drying it self started from the beginning though it was slower in pace now. The boss admired the courage of the fly that was not ready to admit the defeat. Finally the little fly was again able to gather itself and the laborious task of drying had been completed. Then what happened?……… Before it could flap its wings, another heavy drop fell on its tiny body. The boss thought that it was all over. But he was amazed to see the front legs waving again. He felt much pity for the tiny creature and he breathed over it to help it dry itself. That time the movements of fly were extremely weary but even then it collected itself and the process of getting out of the catastrophe started again. After a long struggle it had again successfully beaten the crisis but was very timid and weak. The boss decided that it would be the last drop and he again dipped the pen in inkpot. It actually proved to be the last drop as there was no life left in the little fly. The boss threw its corpse into dustbin and soon forgot all that he had done to it.
                   The story has been based on the famous lines of Shakespeare,   “ As flies to the wanton boy are we to the gods; they kill us for their                              sport”. This is the theme of the story and the boss exactly behaves like a wanton boy and heartlessly kills a little fly. But the thesis is not complete unless we go deep into the story. The gods of fate and circumstances had as callously killed the boss’s son as he had killed the fly. So the fly symbolically stands for man and the boss stands for the controlling powers of the universe that don’t respect emotions and planning of a man. The reality is very cruel and it doesn’t show mercy to anyone… all have to face it. The whole universe is under a colossal power, which is very indifferent and uses death as its tool. Death spares none, old or young. The world gives woes and the time applies a soothing balm on these wounds.  Man moves on and forgets everything. The life and time travel so quickly ahead that a man has to leave the previous sorrows to accept the new ones. The fly was vulnerable and insignificant in face of the calamity that befell it but it struggled hard to battle with the chaos though the fate won and the little fly was perished. The boy in the story too was treated in a heartless manner by Providence. The author illustrates a fatalist outlook that proves a man’s helplessness before the uncontrollable authority of destiny. She herself was suffering from tuberculosis and was crushed like a fly by the hulking command of Death and fate. So the story presents a subtle event to demonstrate the theme and the whole plan of human existence on the planet earth.