One More Time (Well, not really) [Reading Assignment 7]

     I actually had multiple possible interpretations of what is signified in The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield such as the ignorance of the Upper Class to the Lower and even the Middle class, the irresponsibility of the Upper class (which reminds me of The Great Gatsby), and how the world goes on despite personal tragedies.  However, I think that I settled on the idea that Mansfield is saying that there just may be a glimpse of passion among those higher than we normal people.  I say this because I couldn't shake the feeling of a Christ figure in this story (I think I just like relating that for some reason).  There are a few reasons that I felt this way however.  When the workmen come to set up the marquee, Laura later questions why she couldn't have "workmen for her friends."  The workmen even show a kind of worldly association when the tallest sniffs up the smell of lavender.  In other words, she wishes to be among the worldly of her own  free will and she even sees the good in those earthly beings.  Later, when Laura hears of the death of the father of a poor family, she shows great compassion for the low people.  She even goes so far as to try to call off the party (which would be a big ordeal in the time, I believe).  After the party, Laura shows even greater compassion when she brings life (or food since: person - food = no life) to the grieving family.  She travels into the heart of the low, sick, and grieving to give new life.  If it's explained in that way, seems a little like a Christ figure, maybe?  When Laura sees the deceased young man, she finds something she did not expect, a sort of peace.  She finds a kind of resolution and peace in the death she encounters at the end of her journey.

     Well.  I feel as though I made a kind of glancing blow at underlying ideas of the story.  Foster did mention biblical references (which I'm glad for since my whole text was just about the biblical part).  I felt that we went in different directions in our biblical associations, but that's ok I think.

     Relating the story to Persephone opened my eyes more to the idea of relating sex and death.  It also made me remember Laura's mother since I pretty much completely forgot her in my writing.  Relating the stories also tied up some lose ends in my thoughts about certain objects such as the flowers and the ideas of floating among the family.  I had the feeling they were especially important, but I could not seem to find what I had meant to say.

Christ figure, wishes to be among the normal, gives life (food), finds resolution in death