The Garden Party
Summary
The Garden Party
Prototypical modernist short story on class issues, wealth and self-reflexion with complex metaphors and imagery. The Sheridan family is preparing a party in the garden of their mansion, when the news arrives that Mr. Scott, their neighbor, died in an accident. Laura, the daughter of the Sheridans’, wants to cancel the party – but her family disagrees. After the party Laura brings the leftovers to the Scotts’ house, is exposed to poverty and death for the first time and experiences a paradigm shift.
Critical edition
Mansfield, Katherine. "The Garden Party." The Garden Party and Other Stories, edited by Lorna Sage, Penguin, 1997. 12 pp., ISBN 9780141441801