Read this excerpt from Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party.” Which element does Mansfield use to describe the setting?
Answers
The short story The Garden-Party was written in the last two years of Mansfield's life. It was based on an actual garden party that her family held, in which a man, who lived in a cottage in the neighborhood, had accidentally been killed. Some elements, such as incident, image and symbols, represents her style and appears in this short story. Besides these elements, this work will also present the personality of the main character (Laura). Another characteristic of her work that is important is the manipulation of time, that is talking about something that is not in its chronological sequence. Thus, the purpose is analyzing the story, observing these elements and discussing the main parts.
The first sentence of the story -� "And after all the weather was ideal"1 -�� is an example of manipulation of time used by Mansfield. "And after all" usually is used to conclude a proposition, not to start a story. Free indirect speech - the character's voice appearing in the narrator's voice - is another element that was used by her and makes the text easy and pleasant to read. It portrays Laura's opinions, thoughts and feelings. These emotions are shown in the voice of the narrator like they came from Laura's mind. An example of it is the part when Laura is deciding where to put the marquee. Although it is the narrator who speaks, there is clearly Laura's voice reflected on it.