The Garden Party

The Story According to Laura

An Analysis of Narrative Devices Used in Katherine Mansfield 's

The Garden Party

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I . Introduction

Like her models Anton Chekhov and James Joyce , Katherine Mansfield is a writer known for her skill and talent in magnifying some of life 's greatest forces through a narrative technique that ironically presents itself through trivialities and superficiality . Her acclaimed story The Garden Party , is an excellent example of this brilliant style

The story is , quite simply , a narration of an

affluent family 's preparations for a garden party , complete with all the trappings reserved for the genteel society . Various and obviously mundane concerns regarding food preparation and presentation , decorations , and party attire are given much attention , abruptly interrupted towards the end by the news of a neighboring workman 's fatal accident . The protagonist 's misunderstood sympathy for the bereaved family is shown through her mother 's nonchalant suggestion of bringing party leftovers as a way to appease her daughter . While this only takes place at the end of the story , the implications have forever changed the reality of the protagonist and the significance of the garden party she so carefully planned

II . Point of View

The Garden Party ' employs a third-person point of view , generally known as omniscience . As a rule , this narrative style gives the reader a non-intrusive presentation of the story , by solely relating the events without giving any partiality to the thoughts of any character Omniscience is narration that functions like an all-seeing eye , thus provides the reader with the complete storyline as though by a party completely uninvolved in any of the characters or events . This is common in many stories , but its main drawback is the lack of insight that could be gleaned had a first- or second-person point of view was used

The Garden Party ' is better classified as having a third-person limited point of view , since the reader is given access to the thoughts of one character - Laura Sheridan . This may also be seen as the use of an implied author , who , while not acting as the narrator , is drawn by the real author to communicate the values and principles assigned to the story (Chatham ,

. 148 . The consciousness that is centered on Laura reveals her as an embodiment of an ideology that counters those of other characters as they are played out in each situation . Several points in the story attests to this , including the specific instance when she notes how one of the workmen shows interest in a sprig of lavender and how class distinction ruins what could have been good friendships with such men . More importantly , Laura 's proposition to cancel the party on account of their neighbor 's untimely death was met with dismissal and sarcasm this also validates how she holds a different set of values compared to the rest of her family . Moreover , Mrs . Sheridan 's suggestion of Laura 's bringing the basket of leftovers to the man 's family...