The Garden Party 534g3x

“The Garden Party” (Katherine Mansfield) 1) One-sentence summary The Sheridan family of the upper -middle-class arranges the garden party at their home in New Zealand in the day when a working-class man from their neighborhood dies. 2) Segmentation I divide the story into 4 parts. 1. Laura, one of the teenage daughters of the Sheridans’, is engaged in arranging the garden party which will be given in the afternoon. Laura welcomes the workmen who arrive to build up the marquee, her initial scepticism in view of their lower social class is expelled by fascination and attraction of their way of life. 2. In the course of the preparations they(The Sheridans) are unexpectedly interrupted by the deliverer who delightfully presents the news of a riding accident which caused the death of a young man from the poor neighbourhood. Deeply shocked by this incident Laura sets her mind on cancelling the party and tries to convince her sister Jose and her mother of her intention, but they refuse to agree with this idea. Mrs Sheridan even seems to be amused about the comion of her daughter. Trying to divert Laura’s attention from the uncomfortable thoughts Mrs Sheridan gives her a beautiful hat to avoid a discussion. Angrily Laura leaves to her own room where she looks at herself in the mirror wearing the new hat, whose beauty evokes a softening and bending to her mother’s words and a driving away of her concern about the tragic accident. 3. Meanwhile the first guests arrive and the perfect afternoon takes its course,the garden party is a marvelous success. Later in the evening after all the guests have left, the family comes together in the marquee and reflects on the day. Mr Sheridan mentions the accident mistakenly thinking it will be news to the family. Mrs Sheridan does not feel fine talking about all this again and gets nervous and awkward as a result. Preventing reproach she proposes to arrange a basket filled with uneaten rests from the party for the widow. Laura protests at first. She thinks it will be rude to bring leftovers to the grieving family but her mother insists they will be very appreciative for any help at the moment. Laura reluctantly follows her mother’s directions. 4. Walking through the dark streets she notices the skeptical gazes of the poor that follow her till she arrives at the widow’s lodge. A small woman who later turns out to be the widow’s sister opens the door and invites Laura to take a look at the corpse. She is under the impression that he looks

marvelous and far away from everything, in spite of this idea she cannot control herself, thus starts to cry and flees. Meeting her brother Laurie who has been sent by their mom she attempts to express her feelings about her unfamiliar experience and the awareness she gained about life but is not able to voice her thoughts. Despite this her brother understands what she is trying to say. 3) Setting The time is early summer in a year in the first decade of the 20th Century. The story unfolds at the estate of a well-to-do upper-class family on Tinakori Road in Wellington, New Zealand, at the nearby home of a poor lower-class family. As a matter of fact, the setting is divided into two completely different worlds that are clearly defined by a broad road. Firstly, there is the world which is situated in the Sheridans’ house. They live in a magnificent villa in the middle of a spacious garden on a little hill in a very affluent neighborhood. Apart from the huge hall and the summery porch there are many different rooms for any imaginable function, including a smoking-room, a roomy kitchen area and a drawing room where the piano has its place. Moreover the trimmed garden is covered with green lawns, roses and also exotic flowers and trees like karakas or canna lilies. The other side of the road, where the workers and the widow live, lies at the bottom of the hill. Little brown cottages that consist of a few rooms only, a low kitchen and a bedroom. The rooms are dark and plain and hardly supplied with furniture at all. Through the setting of the story (Sheridan’s house and gardens) there is a sense that the Sheridan’s are isolated (or disconnected) from the world around them. Mansfield situates the Sheridan’s house on a hill which could suggest that not only do the Sheridan’s live above others (which would play on the theme of class) but they also appear to be detached (or isolated) from those who live around them (the working class neighbours). Similarly the garden itself may also be important as Mansfield may be suggesting that the Sheridan’s and the other guests at the party remain isolated (or protected) from the world around them while the party is taking place. 4) Characterization Laura Sheridan is a teenage girl growing up in an affluent family in an upper class neighborhood, who appears to be a dynamic character in the course of the story. To start with, one can say that she is a very creative, agile person who loves organizing things and is self conscious( “she was ashamed and stammered like a little girl”) and aware of her skills (“she always felt she could do it so much better than anybody else”) , at least in her habitual surroundings. Laura seems to be different from all the other of her family except for her brother Laurie

who she gets along with very well. (“She ran at Laurie and gave him a small, quick squeeze”.) She has contempt for conventions (“It’s all the fault […] of these absurd class distinctions”) which shows in her fascination about the workmen and the working class lifestyle. Moreover her character is very emotional, - her mood varies from high excitement to indignant depression within seconds. Throughout the plot of the story she experiences an inner conflict between her upbringing in the upper class world and the snobbish views of her mother on the one hand and her own attitude and experiences on the other hand. Although her attempts to escape from her mother’s point of view fail due to her habitual obedience. Mrs Sheridan lives with her husband and her six children in a homestead in a wealthy neighborhood. Her personality can be described as superficial which shows in her manner to care for clothes and exterior features. Instead of being warm hearted and concerned about others, she is only worried about herself and her own property and prestige. Mrs Sheridan appreciates luxury greatly and enjoys abundance, thus she cannot imagine living in a state of need and even demonstrates this snobby and superiority-showing manner. (“Forget I am your mother. Treat me as an honored guest”) As a result of her preconceived opinion about the workers, she does not allow her children to have with them. Another characteristic is her way of refusing to it her faults and of always placing blame on others. This is in line with her attempt to avoid discussions by changing the subject or simply taking advantage of her authority. ("Let's send that poor creature some of this perfectly good food. At any rate, it will be the greatest treat for the children.") 5) Narrative voice In “The Garden Party,” Mansfield uses the third person narration from Laura’s point of view, allowing the reader simultaneous insight into the protagonist’s thoughts while observing her actions. The narrative voice describes the scene in a casual and immediate manner which at once establishes an intimacy with the reader— "And after all the weather was ideal. They could not have had a more perfect day for the garden party if they had ordered it." The almost confidential presentation of such objective facts establishes the narrative voice as the central consciousness of the story—one that perceives and interprets experience and that also, for most of the story, melds with the character of Laura. It contributes to the digestive reader's comprehension of the inner world of the character. Somewhere we could see the ironic attitude of the author to the rich family. For example when Jose sings of weariness even though this is not a concept familiar to the Sheridans. ("This Life is Wee-ary, A Tear - a Sigh. A Love that Chan-ges, This Life is Wee-ary, A Tear - a Sigh. A Love that Chan-ges, And then ... Good-bye!")

6) Plot – Composition The story is highly plotted, the events unfold very quickly, but nevertheless we can indicate the classic plot structure. Exposition -The protagonist, Laura organises a party. We meet her mother and her sisters, who are also helping her to set it up. Rising Action - One of the deliverymen arrives, and it is discovered that a man in the village has died. Laura wants to stop the party so the music won't disturb the family, but her family laughs that off. They continue to arrange the party. Climax - Laura stays at the party, and enjoys it. She does feel bad about the loud noises and crowds of people arriving, but she ignores. It seems like she forgets about the grieving family down the road. Falling Action - After the party, Laura's mother suggests the idea - to send a basket of leftover desserts to the family, Laura resists because she thinks that they won't want their pity. Her mother sends her down to the village to deliver the food. Resolution - Laura goes to the house of the dead man. She sees the sad wife, and she is overcome by emotions. The events are described one after another in the logical order, it helps reader to easy perceive the course of actions. 7) Language and style The story is told over the course of a few hours with no set beginning or traditional character introductions. Instead Mansfield begins her story in the middle of events (The story opens with the word “and”), allowing the character’s histories to unfold as the story progresses. Also, readers can image the appearance f the characters themselves, so from the very begging the author invites us to participate, to fill in the gaps and empty spaces. (For example, we can imagine that the main character is about 15 years old, she is not a child but very naive and as if in a transitional period, she suffers with understanding the ideas which are dictated by the society). It helps to make the reading interactive. Mansfield’s uses words that are classy and educated which hints that the story is taking place in a formal, upper class setting. ("I have never seen such exquisite sandwiches," said Jose's rapturous voice. "How many kinds did you say there were, cook? Fifteen?") On the other hands, we observe the change of the way of speech when it comes to the poorer workers. They say things such as “...put it somewhere where it’ll give you a bang slap in the eye”. This gives even greater effect of the gap between the rich and the poor - they differ not only by their social status or financial state, their language as part of their identity labels their place in the sun.

Noted for her frequent use of internal monologue, a literary device that expresses the thoughts of a character, Mansfield allows for an in-depth observation of Laura’s perspective as her story unfolds. Mrs. Sheridan and Jose’s points of view briefly interrupt Laura’s dominant perspective but are used by Mansfield to emphasize the story’s ambiance rather than offer counter-perspectives to Laura’s viewpoint. Laura’s stream of consciousness – “Never had she dreamed she could look like that. Is mother right? she thought. And now she hoped that her mother was right”. Laura is enchanted by her own reflection, her face framed by the lovely hat. So much so that she all of a sudden re her own community and her place in it, the unease bothering her for some time being relieved. The hat, thus, appears to symbolize Mrs. Sheridan's worldview–including her class consciousness–which she has now ed on to Laura. Another image the author uses is flowers, especially lilies appear several times throughout the plot of the story. In my opinion, in this place lilies are a symbol of wealth and abundance and therewith of the world of the Sheridans itself. When Mrs Sheridan orders hundreds of canna lilies to satisfy her desire Laura describes how the flowers seem to grow inside her and take possession of her. “crouched down as if to warm herself at that blaze of lilies; she felt they were in her fingers, on her lips, growing in her breast." This symbolizes the fact that the artificial world is an inevitable part of Laura that tries to spread out in her. By refusing to accept the trays of lilies she fights against this feeling in order not to be completely drawn into her mother’s world. Not only flowers but the description of the garden itself appears throughout the story several times. “The green bushes bowed down as though they had been visited by archangels”. (Bowing in deference personifies the bushes. – personification) When the guests arrive for the party, they are "like bright birds (metaphor) that had alighted in the Sheridans' garden for this one afternoon, on their way to–where? Ah, what happiness it is to be with people who all are happy, to press hands, press cheeks, smile into eyes." It seems that this garden is a real heaven on earth and the residents of this paradise are not ordinary people but the angels who can fly like birds and they are always happy. Here there is no grief and sadness, everyone is happy. However, we also can find the parallel with the religion - the garden represents the growth of the Sheridan children as well as a kind of Eden in which their parents confine them. 8) Idea In my opinion, Mansfield’s main intention is to demonstrate the inevitableness of the coexistence of the rich and the poor – the happiness and the sorrow, - the condition of contrasts existing at the same time and being unavoidably linked in the natural process of life.