At 'Lehmann's'

In At Lehmann’s by Katherine Mansfield we have the theme of innocence, vulnerability, appearance, confusion and desire. Taken from her In a German Pension collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Mansfield may be exploring the theme of innocence. Sabina believes Hans’ story about why his hands are so dirty even though the story is exceptionally far-fetched and borders on the impossible. What is also interesting about Hans’ story is that because Sabina believes Hans she pities him which may be important as it highlights how good natured Sabina is. She is unable to see any bad in Hans even though he is lying.