Upon reaching maturity, tests and trials are presented to individuals during the exhilarating and liberating process of initiation into adulthood. The initiation into adulthood is a complex series of tests that deal with the understanding of one’s self throughout a process of change and being able to survive new experiences. In Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Her First Ball,” the character Leila begins to move from innocence to awareness and maturity and demonstrates the will to survive during her initiation into a new life. Nervousness, fear, and anticipation accompany initiation when young people are placed in new situations, which Leila experiences throughout her first ball. The ball will present Leila with opportunities for change in her life that she has never experienced before and challenges that will demonstrate her characteristics of survival. ...
Innocence is essential to the initiation of adulthood because it illustrates that young people are inexperienced and need to encounter new obstacles in order to reach adulthood. Young adults must have some kind of initiation or steps before they can reach their goals. ... Leila’s initiation begins when she steps out of the taxi and enters the drill hall, which is so unlike her life at home. There is an air of fantasy at the ball where everything around Leila is so strikingly new and enthralling, leaving her awe-stricken at the prospect of her new future. Mansfield’s creation of a dream world is revealed in the way Leila views everything with wide eyes and astonishment, demonstrating her innocence to a life as is noted in the story:
“She clutched her fan, and gazing at the gleaming golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns, the stage at one end with its red carpet and gilt chairs and band in the corner, she thought breathlessly ‘How heavenly; how simply heavenly!
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