Perhaps the main theme of Katherine Manfield's "Her First
Ball" is the resilience of youth. For, while appearances vs. reality is one theme, and
the temporality of absolute happiness is another, the main theme of youth's resilience
in the face of appearances, time, and unhappiness seems to supersede the
others.
While Leila is aware that she will not always be
young and pretty, and she does discover the cruelty of people and how the appearances of
events can alter reality,she bounces back from the harsh reality that the older man
places before her, and she chooses to ignore the truth of life for the enjoyment of the
moment, the introduction of "the beginning of everything." After her harsh experience
with the old fat man, when her next partner bumps into this man, who is symbolic of
time, Leila
smiled at him more radiantly than ever. She
didn't even recognize him
again.
Leila deals with the
transitory elements of life and the cruelty of people and the unreality of events by
choosing to give them no recognition, and instead, with youthful resilience, she enjoys
herself in the moment.
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