56 pages • 1 hour read
The Garden Party
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Character Analysis
Laura
The character whom the reader follows most closely is the protagonist, Laura Sheridan. She is one of several children in the Sheridan family and is considered “artistic” by her siblings, although this description may allude to her liberal and bohemian beliefs rather than art as an activity. Unlike her family, she is not concerned with class distinction and status and instead is sympathetic to individuals regardless of their social strata. She has a good relationship with her family, interacting with her sisters, brothers, mother, and father with loving and respectful mannerisms. However, this respect does not prevent her from questioning the prescribed norms of her upbringing; in particular, she does not easily relent to the idea that the party should continue, first openly disagreeing with Jose and then taking the matter to Mrs. Sheridan. When her mother insists she not “spoil” others’ fun by canceling the party, Laura resolves to return to the matter after the party versus simply forgetting it as others advised.
Laura is a particularly self-aware young woman in the context of both her age and the time period, which, although not clearly defined, is presumably the early 20th century (based on the date of the story’s publication). Her inner monologues reveal that she is open to more liberal ideas, such as egalitarianism, and that she does not fall prey to pervasive stereotypes, such as when Jose baselessly suggests that Mr. Scott was drunk when he died. Laura desires friendships with those of lower socioeconomic status, such as when she observes the workers’ kind and friendly mannerisms. Thus, her open attitude begins to shape her path to adulthood.
As she makes the journey from inside the gates of her home into the less-affluent neighborhood, she becomes conscious of the stark contrast between her wealthy clothing and her impoverished surroundings. Nonetheless, she continues to the widow’s home, where she encounters death for the first time. Her response to witnessing a deceased individual is another example of her self-awareness; rather than feel disgusted, ashamed, or disturbed, she remarks on the beauty of the “sleeping” man, noting that while she was enjoying the garden party, “a marvel had come to the lane” (12).
Mrs. Sheridan
Mrs. Sheridan, the matriarch of the Sheridan household, embodies the family’s status of wealth. She guides the children in their adolescent state, enforcing rules, and supporting their decisions in the preparations for the party. Although she announces that she will not lead the garden party this year, she does in fact exercise control and reconvene in her role when she deems it necessary (e.g., the purchasing of flowers and the labeling of the sandwiches). Yet in this authoritative role, she is not demeaning but rather loving to the children, who love her in return. The Sheridan children do not disobey her but listen to her commands and guidance.
Mrs. Sheridan is not an antagonist to Laura’s path to self-realization, since she ultimately aids Laura in leaving the gates to enter the world. However, her mindset is united with the rest of the family in upholding the values of class distinction as they live in their own reality. She provides Laura with a lavish hat to wear as both a distraction and a lure to continue the party as planned. She is the only character other than Laura into whose psyche the narrator provides insight. Mrs. Sheridan is therefore more than the one-dimensional pillar of wealth; she is a complex character who, while bearing the responsibility of protecting her family within the Sheridan estate, also facilitates her child’s passage from the liminal state of adolescence to adulthood.
Laura’s Family
Laura’s family, including Mrs. Sheridan, are the general antagonists to Laura’s self-realization. Their presence tethers her to her reality—one that is, ironically, more of a dreamlike existence than a “realistic experience.” While the siblings Meg, Hans, Jose, and Laurie are all mentioned in the story, the reader learns very little of these characters. The exception is Jose, with whom Laura has her main disagreement and the inciting incident; and her brother Laurie, with whom she has bonded over time and who comforts her in the final scene.
In regard to the former, Jose is an extension of Mrs. Sheridan’s beliefs in maintaining class distinctions: She believes it is important to continue the party and assumes that the man who was killed was drunk, thus inviting his own calamity. Like her mother, Jose is authoritative, commanding the servants and demanding an audience for her singing. In this sense, she is a static character, ultimately setting her apart from Laura.
Unlike the rest of the Sheridan children, Laurie is given the privilege of leaving the gates, which, the reader can assume, occurs semi-regularly as he accompanies his father to work. To this extent, he has a view of the outside world; this is probably why he is sent to fetch Laura from the widow’s house at the end of the story. However, his final interaction with Laura—when he asks, “Was it awful?” (12)—implies he has not left the liminal state between understanding life and death. He can, however, provide some words of comfort to Laura.
The Outside World: The Workmen and the Widow’s Family
If the inner world is the Sheridan family estate, then this contrasts with the workmen as well as the widow and her family, all of whom represent the “outside world.” While the widow’s family remains outside the gates of the home, the workmen are allowed in—but this is only because they provide a service for the Sheridans. Despite the class divide, however, there is a common humanity that Laura finds striking, and she learns that the workmen’s socioeconomic status does not determine their personalities, as they also appreciate the beauty of the garden (e.g., the workman enjoying the scent of lavender). While their presence in the story is brief and their characteristics are static, they impact Laura and help catalyze her journey in self-realization.
The widow and her sister are also static characters in that they appear only in their state of grief, and the narrative never shows them transition to another state. Although the widow views Laura’s appearance with some scrutiny, the widow’s sister invites Laura in for the wake. The characters of the outside world bookend Laura’s journey; as the story opens with the workmen, it closes with the widow’s family, thereby ushering her from the world inside the gates to the outside world.
Unlock all 56 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Katherine Mansfield
