Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party"

So what do you do when you start at the summit of an author's work?  I've read that "The Garden Party" is considered Katherine Mansfield's finest short story, and the collection it was published in, The Garden Party and Other Short Stories, was the last she wrote before her death in 1923.  It really is an amazing story, and it gives me the just the taste I need to know I'm hooked and will now have to read more. 

This isn't the first of Mansfield's work that I've read actually.  I've wanted to read KM for a while now, and a few years ago began with her Journal published by Persephone Books.  I wrote about it here and here.  I admit I did struggle a bit with the Journal, but in retrospect I think it wasn't really the best place to start with her work.  Although it made for interesting reading, it seems I was missing an important link, being unfamiliar with Mansfield and her stories, to really appreciate her somewhat piecemeal journal.  At the time I also read "Prelude" the first story in the very hefty The Collected Stories for no better reason than it was the first in the collection.  I think it's far wiser to stick with Simon's recommendation and read stories in the shorter collections first.        

Katherine Mansfield was an interesting woman, who led (in my eyes) a rather colorful life and died a tragic death.  I want to read Claire Tomalin's biography of her, so I won't write about the little I know about her right now.  I will mention she was born in New Zealand in 1888, and she was the one author that Virginia Woolf admitted to being jealous of.  Considered an innovator of the short story form, she admired Anton Chekhov, another short story writer I've read little of (and another writer considered a master of the form--so many authors to build on...here we go again with the short stories I'm afraid). 

"In her work she was and remains one of the great modernist writers of displacement, restlessness, mobility, impermanence.  The very vividness of her New Zealand writing bears this out.  She wanted, she said, 'to make our undiscovered country leap into the eyes of the Old World...It must be mysterious.  It must take the breath'."

"The Garden Party" takes place over the course of one ideal day as a family arranges an afternoon garden party.  The Sheridans are a well off family with their neatly groomed lawn and elegant house.  It's obvious how far their privilege extends as they set up a grand marquee for their guests and more food is prepared than there are people to eat it and pots of pink canna lilies are delivered for decoration.  Laura Sheridan, the artistic daughter, is left to supervise the organization of the party.  When she hears of an accident resulting in the death of a worker who lives below their estate in a simple cottage she tries to talk her family out of holding their party.  She can't imagine entertaining people on the lawn and having party music playing while a houseful of mourners sit so close by and within listening distance.  Both sister and mother claim she's being silly and its only by chance she even heard of the accident.  Had she never known of the death the party would have progressed anway, so why should it not now. 

The story is a perfect slice of life.  It's a transformative story (for Laura at the very least), about class and the gaining of knowledge.  Biographical in nature, Laura is meant to represent KM herself (according to the endnotes in my Penguin edition).  Although I don't want to say much more about the story I will mention a few interesting things I read.

"The story seems to have been based on events one day at 75 Tinakori Road in Wellington, the house KM's family had moved in to in 1898.  KM and her sisters returned there from school in London in 1906, and she described it in her journal as 'a big, white-painted square house with a slender-pillared verandah and balcony running all around it'.  There was a view over the harbour in one direction, and in the other were workman's shacks."

In the story the names of Laura's siblings are Meg, Jose and Laurie, which had been borrowed from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (I thought that really interesting).  This Penguin edition, by the way, seems to have excellent end notes that help explain some of the references, which makes reading the stories just a little bit richer.  So, my first proper KM story down.  I was looking a few things up and came across this website, which refers to a forthcoming biography of KM.  I don't see it listed yet on Amazon in the US or the Book Depository in the UK, so I'll have to watch for it.  Did you know there is a Katherine Mansfield Society?  And after browsing Amazon for KM's Collected Letters, now I see why I gave up after buying only volumes 1 and 2.  The prices for used copies (they are no longer in print) are exorbitant!  I guess I'll stick to library copies when I get that far.  I'm not sure which story I'll read next, but I think I'm going to go and reread "The Garden Party" one more time first.     

Comments

[Rachel]

I love Katherine Mansfield and The Garden Party is her loveliest collection in my opinion.

I have a lovely original copy of her Journal and I think I have an old hardback of selected letters...I have her biography too. I think I was planning on doing my dissertation on her then switched to the Brontes so I bought a lot of biographical books that I never actually read. You and Simon have made me want to revisit. Maybe I might start a little independent research project and start ploughing through all the stuff I have.

[Simon T]

What a great post, Danielle - matches a great story. I remember reading the Folio selected KM in 2003, and this was my favourite - I didn't even know then that it was one of her most famous, or even that it was the title story of a collection. I read it aloud to Mum as we travelled in the car to a Modernist lecture day. I've read it a fair few times since - she is SUCH a talented writer. It's a shame collections of her work tend to be chronological, because that does end up with her best pieces being last.

[Kate S.]

Great post! I'm a huge fan of Katherine Mansfield's stories. I particularly admire how adept she is at evoking sensory detail. I always feel as if I can hear the noises, and smell the smells, and feel the textures in her stories. One of my favourites is "At the Bay" which I think is included in "The Garden Party and Other Short Stories."

[Dorothy W.]

How interesting! I'm curious to know more about the Woolf/Mansfield relationship -- that sounds like it was interestingly tense. I remember coming across mentions of Mansfield in Woolf's diary.

[Danielle]

Rachel--I'm glad I found this collection on my shelves. It's much more approachable than the huge Complete Stories! She would be a great subject for a dissertation, but it would be hard to choose! I love having these little reading projects to work on--I flit back and forth but I come back to them all eventually. It's taken me a while, but I think the timing is right for me to read KM.
Simon--It's hard to write about a short story in any sort of meaningful way without giving the plot away! I agree that she was indeed very talented and I'm glad I've gone back and picked up a smaller collection of stories to start with. The Complete Stories is nice, but so overwhelming, which is why, I'm sure, I 'shelved' this project the first time around. I like the idea of reading aloud, too, and short stories would be perfect!
Kate--Yes, it's the first story in the collection and I'm looking forward to reading it eventually. I want to read the story through again more slowly now that I know what happens. I get the feeling that she was a very careful writer, or at least it feels that way, as if there is nothing extraneous there. I'll be rereading now with your comment in mind!
Dorothy--Woolf and Mansfield did seem to have an interesting relationship. I'd love to read VW's diaries at some point--Ann/Table Talk also suggested I try and read them as they throw insight onto KM and the period as well. So many books to read (on just one subject).

[Joanna]

I actually just purchased a book of her short stories and am itching to start reading (as soon as I finish my current book). I, too, was intrigued by the fact that Woolf felt somewhat threatened by Mansfield, which can only be considered a huge compliment. Especially coming from someone like Woolf who was an incredible writer in her own right. Not to mention she was also a bit of a snob, so you know that whomever Woolf happened to esteem as a writer must be very talented indeed!

[Table Talk]

Wait till you come to the one about the egg. It 'broke' my heart.

[Paperback_Reader]

"The Garden Party" is a wonderful story. My favorite is "A Doll's House", which if I remember correctly features on of the same characters (Kezia). Yesterday I reread "Bliss" and "Mr & Mrs Dove" as your posts made me want some KM this week; I plan to read a couple of stories at a time from one of my collected stories volumes.

[Darlene]

I've read The Daughters of the Late Colonel twice this past week, I think I'm missing something. It's in my Ghost Stories book and this story isn't eerie and I didn't feel any connection with the characters. The Garden Party sounds like something I'd enjoy though.

[Danielle]

Joanna--I love short stories when I set myself the task of reading them, but I tend not to pick them up on a whim otherwise. I'm looking forward to reading more of KM's stories! At the moment I am also reading a book of short stories by Daphne du Maurier, so I am getting my fill!
Table Talk--I have a feeling I will know this one when I read it...
Paperback Reader--I think I might read Miss Brill next. What's nice about short stories is you can squeeze one in here and there. I read one called Prelude a year ago and I think Kezia was in that as well.
Darlene--That story is in this collection so I will be reading it eventually. Sometimes I wonder how some stories end up in certain collections. I'll try to read this one soon so I can compare notes! And The Garden Party is a nice volume--not too much--though about 15 stories, so none too terribly long, I think. It seems far more approachable than the Collected Stories, though I am still glad I bought that volume!

[catharina]

I read The Garden Party - my first meeting with Katherine Mansfield - yesterday. 'Balance' is the word that comes to mind when reflecting on it. I think she balanced the events in the story beautifully. And thus made believable that Laura will be changed due to what has happened further down the road. A perfect slice of life indeed.

[litlove]

Great review! I've read much more about Mansfield than I've read by Mansfield! My favourite story is Bliss, though, and I confess I haven't read this one - must remedy that.

[Danielle]

Catharina--Isn't it amazing how she does that in so short a story?! The last line was sort of ambiguous, but it's made me think and I think she was changed as well at the end of the story.
Litlove--I'm sure Bliss is in my Collected Stories so I will get to it eventually. I feel like I've read more about her than by her as well--but I find that to be the case with other authors occasionally as well!

[citronyella]

KM was a cousin of Elizabeth von Arnim (Enchanted April et al), so that's an interesting bit of trivia for you! I need to revisit KM and her work too. Cant recommend VW's diaries too highly, they are amazing. Wish I had more time for reading.

[Danielle]

Citronyella--Isn't that interesting that they were cousins? Their work is so different--I wonder what they thought of each other. And I really must get started reading VW's Diaries--I have the first one on hand!

[Thomas]

I haven't read any Mansfield before even though I keep seeing her name popping up here and there. Your review has definitely inspired me to pick up this book.

[Danielle]

Thomas--I've read just a few stories, but it's been enough to know that I want to read more. I already have a collection of stories on the go at the moment, but once I finish I'll be reading her in earnest. She was an interesting person as well--her life makes for fascinating reading.

[Mel u]

I read my first Mansfield yesterday, "Miss Bliss"-I totally loved it-based on your post I will look for Garden Party as my next Mansfield read-much of her work can be read on line

[Danielle]

Mel--I loved The Garden Party and was just contemplating that I need to read it again--would love to hear what you think of it when you get to it. She was such a wonderful short story writer--I've wanted to read more of her stories for a while now!