ASSIGNMENT | Japanese Fiction in Comparative Contexts 14

Mansfield, Katherine. The Garden Party.
Compare and Contrast the emotional distance between narrator and
character in The Garden Party with the stories by Chopin and Woolf. (Does the narrator identify with the main character? How do the narrator\’s values seem to align with those of the character, and how can you tell?)

SAMPLE SOLUTION

            Katherine Mansfield, in her short story, “The Garden Party,” concentrates on the conventional, yet false education offered to an upper-class girl known as Laura to explore or refute the Victorian socio-moral attributes and values that prevent the female gender by negatively influencing their perception of life. In the short story, there is the emotional distance between the character and the narrator as evidenced by the protagonist’s (Laura) contact with the outside world that eventually led to PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | distance is shown by the narrator’s insights about people of low social class, and those Laura, especially in how they get in touch with reality on the ground.

           The narrator, however, does not identify with the main character, especially in terms of social classes and sets of values. For instance, the narrator points out that whether Laura bridges the divide between social classes, the said divide remains open (Kaya 57). It is at this point that the emotional distance widens as the narrator points out that the news of death initiates actions, thus triggering tension, which puts Laura in a state of conflict with herself and other people. The narrator does not understand PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | values tend to align with those of the character, especially when it comes to social class concerning how she dresses. For example, the narrator is lenient regarding Laura’s hopes and life transitions, including how she connects and understands people of low social class (Kaya 59). The narrator is also appreciative…