PRE-SEMINAR STAGE OF A MARXIST (ANALYSIS) INTERPRETATION OF “THE GARDEN PARTY”

M S . B O K P E 1 4/25/2020

SEMINAR CENTRAL FOCUS:

• • • •

To what extent is an individual conditioned by his social class?

What do we do when confronted with tragedy or injustice?

The author of the short story “The Garden Party” Katherine Mansfield, provides some insights into this issue by narrating one day in the life of the protagonist Laura, her family, and her neighbours.

Let’s examine this story through a Marist Lens.

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MARIST LENS

• • • • • One of the main principles of Marxism is that the proletariat (the lower, working class)can only survive by rising against the bourgeoisie (the upper, ruling class)

Questions to ask:

1) Who has the power and money? Who does not? What happens as a result?

2) How do individuals play out the roles assigned to them by their society, not recognizing their lack of freedom to behave otherwise?

3) How does the representation of the world in the text— including the events narrated and roles of the characters—work to reproduce or sustain the prevailing social and economic order?

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CHARACTERS: THE BOURGEOISIE (THE UPPER, RULING CLASS): SHERIDANS

• • • • Laura, protagonist Mrs. Sheridan Meg & Jose (Laura’s sisters) Laurie (Laura’s brother) 4/25/2020 4

CHARACTERS: THE PROLETARIAT LOWER, WORKING CLASS) (THE

• • • • • • Hans & Sadie (Sheridan’s servants) Workmen in garden Godber’s man (bakery) The cook Scott (killed at work, fell off horse) People living in “little cottages…at the very bottom of a steep rise that led up to the house” 4/25/2020 5

SETTING: CONTRASTS THE RICH POOR VS

• • • Structured around an early afternoon garden party in New Zealand in the early 1920s The plot is structured chronologically around Laura, an idealistic young girl who wishes to cancel the planned afternoon party upon learning of the death of a working-class laborer who lives down the hill from her parents.

The Sheridan mansion vs “little cottages” 4/25/2020 6

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POINT OF VIEW: BOURGEOISIE PERSPECTIVE

• • • • Third-person-limited Immediately establishes irony because of the distance between information and subject matter.

The narrator withholds information in favour of limiting what she says to what Laura thinks and experiences Laura does not understand what she experiences until the end 4/25/2020 8

POINT OF VIEW (CONT’D)

• • The setting is ironic (a perfect day/death) Laura’s innocence and light-heartedness at the beginning • • In interacting with the workmen Her mother, and her brother • Laura wants to be like her mother (imitates her voice) but mother is superficial 4/25/2020 9

CONFLICT: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL

• • Laura vs her family (human vs human) Class conflict: Laura vs workmen provides background to the story (human vs human) • Life of comfort of the family ( the bourgeoisie ) vs life of hardship of the people of the village ( the proletariat ) 4/25/2020 10

CONFLICT: THE BOURGEOISIE VS THE PROLETARIAT

• It is that difference in class, and the inability of one class to understand the other , that Mansfield wants to expose.

Laura’s inner conflict • • • Learns about life and death That knowledge is staggering Her background conflicts with the poverty and experience of death 4/25/2020 11

STYLE: STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS

• • The story concerns Laura’s alternating moments of resistance and conformity to her mother’s idea of class relations.

Reveals Laura’s bourgeoisie vs proletariat conflict 4/25/2020 12

STYLE: STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS

• • • • Copying mother’s voice talking to workmen Laura’s upbringing made her wonder for a moment whether it was quite respectful of a workman to talk to her of bangs slap in the eye.

Why couldn’t she have workmen for her friends rather than the silly boys she danced with… It’s all the fault, she decided…of these absurd class distinctions … Well, for her part, she didn’t feel them.

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STYLE: STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS

• • • • Laura identifies with the workmen “…how she despised stupid conventions ” Jose loved giving orders to the servants … Laura tells Jose they have to cancel the garden party once she learns of the accidental death Jose replies “Stop the garden-party?...Nobody expects us to. Don’t be so extravagant.” 4/25/2020 14

STYLE: STREAM-OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Juxtaposition: description of little cottages down the hill in contrast to Laura’s mansion • • “the greatest possible eyesore” “little mean dwellings painted a chocolate brown” “cabbage stalks”, “rags”, etc.

“You won’t bring a drunken workman back to life by being sentimental” (Jose) • Laura goes to speak to her mother who responds like Jose 4/25/2020 15

STYLE: STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS

• • “But, dear child, use your common sense. It’s only by accident we’ve hear of it. If someone had died there normally—and I can’t understand how they keep alive in those poky little holes—we should still be having our party, shouldn’t we?” “Mother, isn’t it terribly heartless of us?” 4/25/2020 16

STYLE: STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS

• • • Mrs. Sheridan gives her a hat .

“You are being very absurd, Laura,” she said coldly, “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.” Laura then sees her reflection in the mirror and she forgets about the accident .

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STYLE: SYMBOLS

• • • • Hats used throughout the story to represent the superficiality of the rich “bright birds” represent the rich Party leftovers (sandwiches & pastries) represent Mrs. Sheridan’s false guilt Laura thinks to herself “Again, how curious, she seemed to be different from them all. To take scraps from their part. Would the poor woman really like that?” 4/25/2020 18

STYLE: SYMBOLS

• • • • Story starts off with a perfect, bright day with darkness the day becomes dusk “here she was going down the hill where a man lay dead … and end to somewhere “ mean little cottages ”, “ a shadow ”, “crab-like”, “a dark knot of people outside” “A little woman in black showed I the gloom.” 4/25/2020 19

STYLE: JUXTAPOSITION

• • “What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him?” Laura experiences life from the poor people’s perspective .

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STYLE: SYMBOLS

• • • “ Forgive my hat ” Her hat contrasts with their poverty , and emphasizes the superficiality of the rich .

“She found her way out of the door, down the path, past all those dark people.” 4/25/2020 21

THEME

• • • • The story exposes the superficial attitudes of the rich towards the poor classes misunderstand and how both each other.

At the end Laura hides her feelings and Laurie tries to comfort her. Laura is overcome with emotion at viewing a dead body. She is at a loss to understand life— perhaps it is not fair and is in fact cruel.

“Isn’t life….isn’t life—” “Isn’t it, darling?” said Laurie.

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THEME: COMING-OF-AGE

• • • Of a sensitive girl , the protagonist, Laura Sheridan An awakening to “the hypocrisy of bourgeois society” & middle class ruthlessness • • Class unites & divides us But the story is not just about the evils of class What drives the story are Laura’s perceptions, feelings, mix of emotions and her

new insights

about the contradictions of life.

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CENTRAL QUESTIONS RAISED:

• • • • Should the Sheridans have cancelled the garden party in light of the accidental death down the hill???

How is it possible for the bourgeoisie to understand the proletariat and vice versa?

To what extent is an individual conditioned by his social class?

What do we do when confronted with tragedy or injustice?

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