1 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Garden Party

Author
Katherine Mansfield
Year Published
1922
Type
Short Story
Genre
Fiction
Perspective and Narrator
"The Garden Party" is told by a third-person limited narrator.
Tense
"The Garden Party" is written in the past tense.
About the Title
"The Garden Party" refers to the focus of the story—a lavish annual garden party hosted by the wealthy
Sheridan family.

Character Description

Laura
Laura , one of the three Sheridan daughters, is an
idealistic young woman on the brink of adulthood. Read More

Mrs. Sheridan Mrs. Sheridan is Laura's class-conscious mother.

Jose Jose , one of Laura's older sisters, is class conscious, like their mother. Read More

Cook Cook is the Sheridans' cook. Mrs. Sheridan claims to be afraid of her.

Florist's deliveryman The florist's deliveryman delivers an enormous quantity of pink canna lilies for the party.

Godber's deliveryman Godber's deliveryman delivers cream puffs for the party and brings

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

2 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

news of the accidental death of a local laborer.

Hans Hans is one of the Sheridans' servants.

Kitty Maitland Kitty Maitland is Laura Sheridan's friend.

Sadie Sadie is one of the Sheridans' servants.

Scott Scott is a carter who is killed in an accident on the morning of the garden party.

Mrs. Scott Mrs. Scott is Scott's grief-stricken widow.

Mrs. Scott's sister Mrs. Scott's sister takes Laura to view Scott's corpse.

Laurie Laurie is Laura's beloved older brother.

Meg Meg Sheridan is one of Laura's older sisters.

Mr. Sheridan Mr. Sheridan is Laura's father and the head of the Sheridan family.

The tall workman is one of four men who put up the marquee
Tall workman for the party. Laura is enchanted when she notices him sniffing a sprig of lavender.

Laura -Protagonist
 Sister = Megh ,Jose
 Mother = Mrs . Sheridan
 Father = Mr Sheridan
 Brother = Laurie
 Servant =Hans , Sady
Cottage = Death Man = Scott

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

3 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary
Morning
It is the morning of the Sheridan family's afternoon garden party.
Mrs. Sheridan insists that it is up to her three daughters to organize the
event. Her two eldest daughters, Meg Sheridan and Jose Sheridan, are
content to enjoy a lazy breakfast. It is thus up to Laura Sheridan, the
youngest daughter, to supervise the workmen hired to put up the
marquee, or large tent. Mrs. Sheridan encourages Laura by implying she
will be good at this task because she is artistic.

Laura rushes into the garden, delighted by the beautiful day and
the prospect of eating her bread and butter outdoors. Her joy soon turns
to awkwardness when she encounters the four workmen, who are
equipped with tools and waiting for direction. She feels silly for holding
her breakfast in front of them and tries to overcome this by imitating her
mother's authoritative voice. This also feels wrong to her. The workmen
remain patient and kind, and Laura soon relaxes. Laura and the four
men discuss where to put the marquee. At first Laura is irritated at the
men's decision to put it in front of the karaka trees because the marquee
will hide their beauty. (Karaka trees, native to New Zealand, are a kind of
evergreen with an edible fruit whose kernels, or seeds, are edible only
after carefully removing the poison through washing and cooking.) Her
irritation dissolves when she notices one of the men pinching a sprig of
lavender between his fingers and inhaling its scent. "How many men that
she knew would have done such a thing?" Laura wonders.

Laura wishes she had workmen for friends "rather than the silly
boys she danced with and who came to Sunday night supper." She
concludes that the class distinctions that make such friendships
impossible are absurd.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

4 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laura is called into the house for a phone call. On her way to the
phone she encounters her brother— Laurie Sheridan—and her father
getting ready to go to work. She and Laurie share a friendly exchange
before Laura rushes off to the phone. Laura speaks to her friend Kitty
Maitland, who wants to come to lunch. Mrs. Sheridan calls to Laura to tell
Kitty to "wear that sweet hat she had on last Sunday."

Momentarily alone after hanging up the phone, Laura listens to the

sounds coming to her from other parts of the house. She notices the
movement of air and the spots of sun that glow on an inkpot and a silver
photo frame.

The florist's deliveryman arrives with trays full of potted pink

lilies. Laura thinks this must be a mistake—no one would ever order so
many lilies—but Mrs. Sheridan enters the hallway and confirms that she
ordered them. She directs the florist while Meg, Jose, and a servant
named Hans move the piano in the drawing room. When Laura and Mrs.
Sheridan join them, Jose is singing, "This Life is Weary." Jose wants to
practice in case she is asked to sing at the party.

Sadie, another servant, interrupts the Sheridan women. The cook

wants the flags, or labels, for the sandwiches. Mrs. Sheridan rattles off
instructions to her daughters. While Laura writes out the flags, Jose goes
into the kitchen to talk to the cook and make sure that she isn't peeved
about not having the flags. Meg is sent upstairs to take the wet towel off
her head.

Next, the cream puffs from Godber's are delivered. Laura and Jose
indulge in one apiece and then head for the garden to check on the
progress of the marquee. The doorway is blocked by Hans, Sadie, the
cook, and Godber's deliveryman, who is eagerly sharing a piece of tragic

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

5 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

news. That very morning, a carter named Scott was thrown from his
horse and killed. A steam-powered vehicle spooked the horse.

Laura is horrified. She thinks they should cancel the garden party.
Jose tells her, "Of course we can't do anything of the kind. Nobody
expects us to. Don't be so extravagant." The sisters bicker for a few
minutes before Jose tries to reason with Laura. "You won't bring a
drunken workman back to life by being sentimental," Jose states, which
only makes things worse.

Laura runs to her mother, who seems surprised and annoyed by

Laura's concern. Mrs. Sheridan agrees with Jose—the party must go on.
Her mother finally loses her patience. "People like that don't expect
sacrifices from us," she says coldly. She tries to distract Laura by giving
her a new hat, which she places on her head. Laura goes into her own
room and catches a glimpse of herself wearing the hat. She is amazed at
how good she looks. The carter's death and the sorrow of his family
seem to blur, and Laura decides to think about it again after the party is
over.

Afternoon
The household is ready for the party by 2:30. Laura's father and
her older brother, Laurie, come home from work. Laura wants to tell
Laurie about the death of the carter. If he agrees with everyone else,
Laura decides, then continuing with the party "was bound to be all
right." Laurie compliments Laura's appearance with the hat, and she
can't bring herself to tell him.

The guests arrive, and Laura tends to them, making sure they have
drinks and frozen treats. She receives many compliments on her

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

6 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

appearance in the hat. At the end of the party, Laura helps her mother
say goodbye to the guests.

Evening

When the guests are gone Mr. Sheridan asks if the family has heard
about the accident that happened earlier in the day. Mrs. Sheridan
mentions that Laura wanted to cancel the party. Much to Mrs. Sheridan's
displeasure, her husband continues to talk about the accident. Suddenly,
Mrs. Sheridan decides that they should send the leftover food to the
carter's family, noting that "it will be the greatest treat for the children."
Laura isn't sure this is a good idea, but she does what her mother says
and prepares a basket of food for the Scotts. Mrs. Sheridan suggests she
bring some arum lilies with her because people "of that class are so
impressed by arum lilies." Jose points out that the stems will stain
Laura's dress, so the lilies stay at home while Laura heads down to the
lane where the Scott family lives.

Laura feels out of place wearing her party dress and fancy hat on
the dark lane lined by "mean little cottages." A crowd of people is
clumped together in front of the Scotts' house. Laura forces herself to
knock on the door. She plans to leave the basket and go back home, but
Mrs. Scott's sister tells her to come inside. After a silent and awkward
encounter with Mrs. Scott, the sister leads Laura into a bedroom where
Mr. Scott's body is laid out on the bed. He looks as if he's asleep. Laura
thinks he is beautiful and believes he is wonderfully free from worldly
cares. She sobs loudly, as she feels she must, and says to the dead man,
"Forgive my hat," before she leaves the house.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

7 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laurie is waiting for her at the corner of the lane. "Was it awful?"
he asks. Laura sobs, "No. It was simply marvelous." She has so much to
say but can't get it out. It doesn't matter, she thinks. Laurie understands.

Part-B
1.. Write a short note on the reaction of Laura
hearing the news of Scott's death.

Ans. "The Garden Party" centres round the character of Laura. Her
development into maturity is the main theme and in the process of her
development into maturity, the news of the death of Scott, a poor cart
driver and neighbour to the Sheridan, plays an important role.

Laura was brought up in a rich family. Even she and her sisters and
brothers were not allowed to go to the poor neighbourhood. Like a
typical aristocratic young girl, her life was going on in the limited
perspective confined to garden party.

So, when she first heard of the death news of Scott, her reaction
was shocking. Like the other matured persons who were accustomed,
she wanted to stop the garden party. She thought that it would be
terribly heartless to continue the party while next to them there was a
bereaved family with a dead body. To her death was a new and
unexpected phenomenon.

However, when Laura saw the dead body, it became clear to her
that the dead man passed beyond everything. He was happy and
beautiful. Death brings an end to all his suffering and she realized that
death in nature is regardless of class distinction and so life is
"marvellous."

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

8 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Link] a short note on the role of Mrs. Sheridan in "The

Garden Party".

Ans. Mrs. Sheridan is the mother of Laura, the central character of

"The Garden Party." She is an old aristocrat who brought up her children
in the same aristocratic way. She lives with her husband and her six
children in a homestead in a wealthy neighbourhood. Her superficial
personality is shown in her manner to care for clothes and exterior
features only. She is not warm-hearted and concerned about others. She
is only worried about herself and her own property and prestige. She
does not allow her children to have contact with the neighbourhood as
she considers them to be lower class. She even refuses to admit her
faults and is in the habit of placing blame on others. She is an
authoritative woman. When Laura is preparing the garden party, Mrs.
Sheridan orders lilies to be delivered for the party without Laura's
approval. She is not sympathetic towards the poor. When Laura asked
her mother to stop the garden party because of the death of the poor
neighbour, her mother rebuked her for being very absurd and coldly
says, "People like that don't expect sacrifices from us. And it's not very
sympathetic to spoil everybody's enjoyment as you're doing now." She
tries to convince her daughter of the foolishness of her intention to
cancel the party. She tries to divert her daughter's attention by giving
her a beautiful hat. She places a fashionable hat on Laura's head and says
that "The hat is yours." The hat, thus, symbolizes Mrs. Sheridan's
worldview including her class- consciousness which she has now passed
on to Laura.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

9 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part-C
Q.1. "The Garden Party" is a story about a young
girl's development into maturity. Discuss. [NU. 2015]

Ans. The Garden Party" is short story written by Katherine

Mansfield . Here, she focuses on the character of Laura, the youngest girl
of an aristocratic family, the Sheridan. She is the protagonist of this
story. In fact, it is about Laura's development from a young girl in the
beginning into her maturity in the end.

Laura has a good relationship with her family, interacting with her
sisters, brothers, mother, and father with loving and respectful
[Link] mother refers to her as "the artistic one" and assigns
her various tasks for the upcoming [Link] was brought up
in a rich family. Even she and her sisters and brothers were not allowed
to go to the poor neighbourhood. Like a typical aristocratic young girl,
her life was going on in the limited perspective confined to garden party.

In the beginning Laura is portrayed as a cheerful young girl who

was very fond of the garden party that they were going to celebrate. Mrs.
Sheridan called her youngest daughter Laura to give some direction to
the [Link]'s interest to take part in the preparation of the
party is childlike "Away Laura flew, still holding her piece of bread-and-
butter. It's so delicious to have an excuse for eating out of doors, and
besides, she loved having to arrange things."She holds the bread and
butter at her hand and so she feels ashamed because this kind of outdoor
eating is not a regular practice of the upper class. She tries to copy her
mother’s voice of the upper class while wishing ‘Good morning’ to the
workmen, but she cannot do it well.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

10 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here, Laura's development from a young girl into maturity is

found. For instance, she feels disappointed by the "silly boys" pursuing
her. But he feels happy and says "extraordinarily nice" in front of lower
social classes men, such as the marquee [Link] by her
mother as the artistic one of the family, Laura appreciates the beauty of
simple things—the way leaves rustle in the breeze, how sunlight glints
off an inkpot. Like her mother and her sister Jose Sheridan, Laura is
aware of class distinctions and the high social rank that she and her
family hold.

We also follow Mansfield’s mastery over portraying the character

of Laura who tries to dissolve the distinction in the society. When she
first heard of the death news of Scott, her reaction was shocking. Like the
other matured persons who were accustomed, she wanted to stop the
garden party. Laura tries to convince her mother to cancel the party out
of respect, which Mrs. Sheridan refuses to do. Later, Laura’s mother
sends her to deliver a basket of leftover food to the cart-driver’s family.
Then, she feels out of place and deeply uncomfortable.

However, when Laura saw the dead body, it became clear to her
that the dead man passed beyond everything. He was happy and
beautiful. Death brings an end to all his suffering and she realized that
death in nature is regardless of class distinction and so life is
"marvellous."Upon seeing Scott’s body, Laura has an epiphany about life,
death, wealth and poverty .

Overall,"The Garden Party", thus, depicts the development of a

young girl into maturity. Through Laura's alternating moments of
resistance and conformity to her mother's idea of class distinction,she at
last came out of her family shadow, and understood the world beyond
the Sheridan family's garden party

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

11 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q.2. How does Katherine Mansfield make a contrast

between the rich and the poor in "The Garden Party"?
Or,How does Katherine Mansfield criticize class
distinction in "The Garden Party"?
Ans. "The Garden Party" is short story in which katherine
Mansfield depicts the class distinction between the poor and the rich. It
deals with two families. Mrs Sheridan families arrange a garden party,
they are aristocratic. On the other hand, Mr Scotts, a Carter, whose
family is poor. Here, the distinction between the poor and rich is found
in a society.

The story opens in a fine morning. The Sheridan family was

preparing for a garden party. The house was decorated beautifully. All
the family members were busy. Mrs. Sheridan called her youngest
daughter Laura to give some direction to the workmen. Laura comes to
supervise the work of the workmen and finds that she holds the bread
and butter at her hand and so she feels ashamed because this kind of
outdoor eating is not a regular practice of the upper class. She tries to
copy her mother’s voice of the upper class while wishing ‘Good morning’
to the workmen, but she cannot do it [Link] natural behavior of the
workmen, their whistling, their smiling seem to Laura very nice and
attractive. However, later she liked the workmen and preferred them to
silly boys who came at the party.

In the Garden Party, two classes are divided by a road. On the

upper side lives Mrs. Sheridan’s family and at the lower side lives the
working class family. Everything in Mrs. Scott’s family is poverty
stricken—in their garden, patches, there is nothing but cabbage stalks,
sick lens and tomato cans. On the contrary, in Mrs. Sheridan’s garden, a
glanderous Garden Party is is taking place in an admirable weather and
surrounding. Even the chimneys in the families express the difference.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

12 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So class distinction exists [Link] was brought up in a rich

family. Even she and her sisters and brothers were not allowed to go to
the poor neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was also described in a
diminutive way.

The death of a poor cart driver like Scott, a neighbour of the

Sheridans, brings out the social distinction that prevailed. When Laura
gets the news of Scott's death,She requests her brother and mother again
and again to stop the party, but they do not agree with [Link] goes to
her elder sister Jose and tells her to stop the party. But Jose is surprised
and she rebukes Laura for being absurd and emotional of such incident.
She becomes annoyed and tells her that if they are to stop the party
every time for some one has an accident, they will lead a very strenuous
life. Even, Laura’s mother objectionably comments on those people’s
living in those ‘poky little holes’. But, if anyone in her family had died,
she must have thought of postponing the [Link]’s singing song draws
a sharp class distinction. Jose sings ‘This life is weary’ but practically
doesn’t know the meaning of weary which the children of Mrs. Scott’s
family know and feel [Link] attitude nakedly shows the marks of
class distinction.
The party being over, Mrs. Sheridan wants to send the remaining
food to Mrs. Scott’s family. Here the lower class people are treated like
beasts who eat the extra food after the human use. Even, she mocks at
them by stating—
‘No wait, take the arum lilies too. People of that class are so
impressed by arum lilies.

Overall, there are many ways in which class distinction is shown

throughout the short story "The Garden Party". We also follow
Mansfield’s mastery over portraying the character of Laura who tries to
dissolve the distinction in the [Link] the story Katherine Mansfield
portrays a sharp contrast between the rich and the poor.

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain

13 Fb Group:English Department All Universities Of Bangladesh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prepared by:Tahmid Hossain