In the short story Prelude, Mansfield addresses the question of identity. In this particular extract, Beryl's role is explored through self-reprimand. She feels contemptible about the role her very visible false self plays and longs to live differently, but soon her sudden "return" conveys the fact that women are too powerless to make changes in their lives. The excerpt is third person omniscient, in fact Mansfield doesn't introduce the characters much through narration, we learn more through direct observation. This extract is therefore particularly important because it is an exploration of Beryl's secret self. Beryl realizes that she plays multiple roles in her personalized fantasy world. Its name itself is a perfect metaphorical proof of this, because as the beryl gemstone allows its color to be determined by external stimuli, we can assume that beryl plays different roles in its life depending on the external environment and the atmosphere. “I always play a role. I'm never really myself for a moment. Beryl proves to herself that her life is me...