Anne Spooner English 456 Paper #2 Communication in Age and Social Difference in The Garden Party

In The Concept of Modernism, Astradur Eysteinsson addresses the concept of communication in modernity and how that translates into communication as related through modernist fiction. Specifically, he states that “in refusing to communicate according to established socio-semiotic contracts, they seem to imply that there are other modes of communication to be looked for, or even some other modernity to be created” (6-7). By stepping out of normally used societal meanings, Eysteinsson states that the modernists implement ‘other modes of communication’ to point out how disrupt normal social patterns or ‘way of life.’ In Katherine Mansfield’s short stories “The Garden Party,” “Miss Brill,” and “Her First Ball,” it can be seen how communication affects modernity in the areas of age and social class difference.

AGE One area of communication that Mansfield focuses on is that between those of varying ages. It can often be heard from the older generation that they do not understand the younger generation, that they are so different from when they (the older) were their (the younger’s) age. This misunderstanding in inability to converse easily between the generations is one way that communication disrupts the normal way of life. The way that Mansfield addresses this is through several short stories from the perspective of the younger generation, expressing their frustration at the older generation.

The can be seen in “The Garden Party.” When Laura finds out about the death of the carter, she tries to stop the party. However, she is stopped from doing this because no one in the house can understand why she would want to do this. Her communication with her family is failed because none of them are able to decode and understand what she is saying. She is treated as a little girl by her family:

[Jose’s] eyes hardened. She looked at [Laura] just as she used to when they were little and fighting together…To Laura’s astonishment her mother behaved just like Jose; it was harder to bear because she seemed amused. She refused to take Laura seriously. (78)

Because of this difference in age, whether physical or perceived, their communication disrupts the flow of planning the garden party. Through this disruption, Mansfield points out how much value is placed on the normal routine of life. Because of this separation in age, the Sheridan’s inability to understand why Laura is messing up the perfect flow of the day, and so they become frustrated, which shows through their communication in harsh blunt speech. William Atkinson comments that “Laura’s mother uses events that almost ruin the festivities to move her daughter from a mildly rebellious adolescent to a young-womanhood that does not question the status quo” (54). Modernist literature experiments with this disruptive communication and shows the reader through the older character’s reaction to a younger person interrupting the normal course of the day due to ‘silly’ convictions. In this specific instance, Laura’s interrupting the day causes frustration in her family because they believe that she is giving in to those convictions that would not happen in real life, and deviating from the normal course of action.

A second example of youth’s frustration acting negatively upon the elderly is in “Miss Brill.” Miss Brill visits the park every Sunday. On the Sunday the story covers, she over hears a young couple talking about her. The young man says,

Why not? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there? ...Why does she come here at all—who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home? (190)

This destroys her motivation for getting out to the park. Mansfield says that when she gets home, she “thought she heard someone crying” (191), and it is implied that the ‘someone’ is Miss Brill. The communication from the young couple definitely causes a disruption in the normal everyday life of Miss Brill. When compared to what Eysteinsson says about modernism causing disruption through communication, this is a prime example of disruption through communication. This example is different from that in “The Garden Party” where the older characters reacted harshly to the younger. In “Miss Brill,” the older character reacts quietly but still affects the outcome of the story. If Miss Brill’s Sunday schedule—going to the park, listening to the band, eating honey cake on her way home—is seen as modernity, a routine occurrence, the norm, etc, then its upset by a comment from a young man that is not even three lines in eight pages, that comment could seen as a representation of modernism. The impact of that communication has such a vast effect on Miss Brill’s mood. Mansfield again addresses age in “Her First Ball.” Leila is experiencing her first ball (hence the name of the story), and it seems to be quiet the experience. However, Mansfield makes an interesting remark in regards to the men who attend balls. Leila’s first partner’s first remark is “quite a good floor isn’t it?” and later asks “were you at

Bells’ last week?” Her second partner remarks “floor’s not bad” and then asks “were you at the Neaves’ on Tuesday?” These questions seem to be the equivalent of those asked by PSU students when they first meet: What’s your major? Where are you from? etc. By asking what seem to be generic questions, these first two young men are communicating their age and that they are among those who go regularly and who value dancing as an important form of entertainment. The third partner is an older man, bitter because of his age and because he has been attending balls “for the last thirty years” (200). This man depresses her with his talk of growing old, sitting with the other mothers dressed in black and watching the youngsters dance the night away. He frightens her with thoughts of this ball being her last. The young men cheer her up and welcome her to the ball, and the older man successfully depresses her with his talk of growing old and lonely. The difference in what they communicate is largely related to their age. The young men are excited to be at the ball, so their communication reflects this. Their excitement is successfully carried over to Leila, which encourages her to relax and enjoy herself more. The older man is tired of going to balls, most likely because he has never found a wife at one yet continues to go because of societal rules. His anger at this is carried over to Leila, who then feels like “a little girl [who wants to throw] her pinafore over here head and sob” (201). In this instance, Mansfield provides an event where the communication from an older character has a negative impact on the younger. The previous examples were the other way around, where the older were reacting in exasperation or despair towards the younger characters’ communication.

SOCIAL CLASS

Another area of communication that Mansfield focuses on is in that of society. Throughout the collection, prejudice between classes is shown several times to be a destructive force demonstrated through communication with someone of equal class or lower class. Through their station in society, the Sheridan’s (of “The Garden Party”) add more obstacles to effective communication. Throughout the story, Mansfield’s characters display the attitude of those who view the lower class as Jose automatically makes a stereotype against the carter: “You won’t bring a drunken workman back to life by being sentimental” (page 78); and Mrs. Sheridan points out the difference in expectations: “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” (page 79), and “people of that class are so impressed by arum lilies.” These pre-formed opinions towards those who live in the little cottages at the bottom of the hill create a barrier to communication between Laura and her family. Although this barrier is not exclusive to modernist literature, it still has a disruptive effect on society. In the article “Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party: Style and Social Occasion,” Adam J. Sorkin points out that “the most crucial actions first Laura’s anticipation of her wealthy family’s garden party and whole-hearted delight in its extravagance and then her intense reaction to the death of the poor worker are deeply involved with social and economic realities” (442). It can be assumed that these emotions, the delight in the extravagance of the party and her despair at the death of the worker, are learned from the class of society that she was raised in. It is interesting how, even though Laura is communicating from the same standing as her family, the communication still fails because of the social prejudice against the carter’s class.

However, when she goes to the carter’s house that, according to Sorkin, “as an isolated individual, she comes to a knowledge much more deeply disturbing and also fundamentally asocial” (Sorkin 443). This removal of her normal society removes society for her completely. It seems to be a lose-lose situation. In “Her First Ball” the communication is a little bit more subtle. When first arriving at the ball, the Sheridan sisters and Leila go to the cloak room to dispose of their coats and to greet the other girls. Because it is her first ball, Leila is introduced as the Sheridan’s ‘country cousin.’ The tag of being from the country adds to the uncertainty that Leila has at being at her first ball. Adding to that, Meg asks the girl to “be nice to her. Find her partners; she’s under my wing” (195). This could be seen as a way of saying ‘she doesn’t know how we run things here in the city, show her the ropes.’ By pointing out to everyone that Leila is not from the city, they are attaching to her the negative connotation that accompanies the country ‘bumpkin’ label. The narrator comments after this introduction that “Leila felt the girls didn’t really see her” (196). They are, of course, staring at the boys but they also exude an aura of seeing only what is of interest to them, and the country cousin doesn’t seem to reach that level. Their body language communicates to Leila that she is of lesser importance because of her class. In the example used above from “Miss Brill” the effect of social class communicated through the young man’s comment can also be seen. Before he comments on her, the narrator says what she is thinking in her head: “The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht” (190). This implies that they had the appearance of wealth. This adds to the insult pointed towards Miss Brill in that the comment makes it seem as though Miss Brill is a sub class ‘stupid old thing’, not even

worthy of gender let alone equal class. By including hints at their class, and contrasting that with Miss Brill’s (she has a ragged old fur that she packs away and has for years on end), the narrator makes sure to point out the effect that the communication has on Miss Brill’s attitude for the rest of the story.

By focusing on the disruption that communication between those of varying ages and social positions, one can see how modernism impacts how the normal day is viewed. Looking at Eysteinsson’s statement on how communication, through ‘other modes,’ can point out what happens when the norms of society are disrupted. In the communication that arises from age difference and from class difference, Mansfield points out how the norm is disrupted. It is important to see this, as these communication disruptions are what point out how modernism affects modernity. It stands up and points out the not-sonice aspects of life, and explores them to their fullest extent. In “the Garden Party,” “Her First Ball,” and “Miss Brill,” modernism makes this prevalent through its display of age and social class through the communication that those elicit.

Works Cited Atkinson, William. Mrs. Sheridan’s masterstroke: Liminality in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party’. English Studies. 87:1, 53-61 Eysteinsson, Astradur. The Concept of Modernism. Cornell University Press: 1990. 6-7. Sorkin, Adam J. Katherine Manfield’s “The Garden Party”: Style and Social Occasion, Modern Fiction Studies, 1978. 24:3. 439-455.