The Garden Party is a short story written by Katherine Mansfield in 1922. It is set in the 1920s; it is just about the time that the industrial revolution has started. The poor is getting poorer and the rich is getting richer. Nevertheless there is always time for a party.
Laura, the main character, her two sisters, Meg, Jose, and her brother Laurie are all well raised young adults from a privileged background. Her mother, who is only known as Mrs Sheridan, has decided to throw a Garden party. The story sets off with Laura that has been put in charge to organise the garden party. Laura is a confused young adult that is trying to find her place in the family. When the workmen arrive to set up the marquee she is hesitant at first, she asks her mother where they must put it. Later she gets use to the idea and relishes the chance to organise the party. Laura is somewhat different than the rest of the family. Her mother refers to her as the artistic one. She also doesnt feel superior to the workers like the rest of her family. She sees them as equals and she wants to be friends with them. Laura also asked the workmen for their opinion on the lily-lawn. The way she raised made her wonder if it was appropriate for a workman, to talk like that to a lady of her class. Laura could see the difference in class but she did not consider herself better than the workmen: Oh, how extraordinarily nice workmen were, she thought. Even though Laura has a kind heart one can still see a side of nobility showing. When her friend Kitty calls she explains the lunch as a very scratch-meal. However we know that this not true. The garden party has to be perfect. The perfect food, the perfect band and the people has to be invited.
We can safely assume that the man that died at the gate is the same that Laura got to know. This is the reason why it is so hard for her to continue with the party. Laura felt it would be the right thing to do to cancel the garden party out of respect for the man and his family. She talked to her family about it, but nobody wanted to listen to her. She felt that they wanted her to forget about the incident and feel no remorse for the man and his family.
When the party is over and the guests have left Lauras father brings up the death of the man again. Laura felt guilty because she enjoyed the party so much that she forgot about the incident. Her father made her realize her guilt when he said, The chap was married tooand leaves a wife and half a dozen kiddies. Lauras mother suggests that some of the uneaten food had to be taken down to the widow and her children. Mrs Sheridan sends the Scott family home with leftover food and arum lilies, she felt that she has to do the right and she pretends as if the incident never happened. Laura was angry that she was the one that had to take the leftover food to the poor family. Because she felt so ashamed that she had forgotten about the man she did not want to take the leftover food and she was worried if the poor woman would appreciate the leftover food from their party or would she find it offensive.
To conclude, Laura realized how wrongly her family has always treated other people when she arrived at the Scotts home. The Scotts have lost a friend,brother and a husband and they were still friendly to her. Laura was invited into the bedroom to see Mr Scotts bodyMrs Scotts sister took Laura into the bedroom to look at Mr Scotts body, She felt ashamed when she was standing next to his bed. She realized that no human being is better than anyone else.
Total words: 674
Bibliography
Katharine, Mansfield. The Garden Party Bananafish braai: Selected Stories. Ed. Rob Gaylard. Stellenbosch: Van Schaik Content Solutions, 2003.
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