H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda. In 1918 Mansfield was found to have tuberculosis.

             In her last years, Mansfield lived much of her time in southern France and in Switzerland, seeking relief from tuberculosis. Without the company of her literary friends, family, or her husband, she wrote much about her own roots and her childhood. Mansfield died of a pulmonary hemorrhage on January 9, 1923, in France. Her last words were: "I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.".

             The story "Bliss" is composed from Katherine"s personal experience with her family. This story secured her reputation as a writer. In the years 1920-1922, Katherine did her best work, including "Garden Party" which she wrote during the final stages of her illness. Only three volumes of Mansfield"s stories were published during her lifetime. Katherine"s journals, letters, and scrapbook were edited by her husband. She was greatly influenced by Anton Chekhov because of his warm humanity and attention to small details of human behavior. Katherine was recognized for her influence on the development of the short story as a form of literature. Among her literary friends were Aldous Huxley, Virginia Woolf, and D.H. Lawrence.

             "Bliss" by Katherine Mansfield.

             The main character of the short story "Bliss" is Bertha Young, a very well-off woman with a husband, a child, and a beautiful house complete with a huge yard and a great view. Bertha loved to buy extravagant things and she and her husband would often throw dinner parties for their friends, who of course were also very wealthy. Bertha was very satisfied with her life; in her own words she had a feeling of "Bliss, absolute bliss!" .

             The prop characters are Bertha"s husband (Harry), her Nanny/Nurse, her Servant (Mary), her child (Little B), and her good friends (Mrs. Fulton, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Knight, and Eddie Warren). Bertha loved her husband but had little passion towards him.