Awareness and Empathy
The central theme of the story unfolds through a striking contrast. Laura, one of the Sheridan daughters, is assigned the responsibility of managing the final touches for the garden party. When she unintentionally hears from a workman about a tragedy in the nearby lane, she believes the party should be canceled. However, her family disagrees. After the event, Mrs. Sheridan has "one of her brilliant ideas" to offer the leftover food to the Scotts, thinking it might be beneficial during their difficult time. Laura is selected to deliver the food, which leads her to confront grief and death. As she walks down the crowded lane where the Scotts reside, she senses the watchful eyes of all the neighbors on her. The only clear images she notices are the swollen face of the mourning widow and the face of the late Mr. Scott, who seems to be "sleeping so soundly, so deeply ... so remote, so peaceful."
Innocence and Experience
"The Garden Party" centers on Laura Sheridan's journey of psychological and moral growth. The narrative delves into her youthful confusion about her family's societal values and her newfound, mature grasp of reality following her exposure to poverty and mortality at the carter's home.
Laura's recognition of her own youthfulness and lack of experience becomes evident when she interacts with the working class. When assigned the task of supervising the workers setting up the marquee, she finds them "impressive" due to their tool-carrying and working in shirt sleeves. At first, she attempts to mimic her mother—the adult figure—but quickly loses her nerve: "Laura wished now that she had not got her bread and butter, but there was no place to put it and she couldn't throw it away. She blushed and tried to look severe and even a little shortsighted as she came up to [the workers]." Adopting her mother's tone, Laura greets the workers but soon feels her voice sounds "affected" and becomes self-conscious.
This lack of confidence troubles her at several moments in the story, especially when she encounters situations outside her childhood experiences. Her initial admiration of the workers' camaraderie shifts to discomfort as she witnesses the stark reality of their community—their poverty and cramped, dim kitchens. Upon learning of the carter's death and suggesting the party be canceled as a mark of respect, she is distracted by a hat her mother gives her, symbolizing the privileged world she is part of. The assuredness of her sisters and mother, who easily justify their comfortable lifestyle, stands in stark contrast to Laura's clumsy attempts to do the right thing by calling off the garden party.
Though Laura's responses often seem childish, there are significant instances of character development. She is constantly aware of the constraints within her class-conscious environment and remains open to diverse experiences, even if she cannot always react with maturity. For example, she genuinely cares for the carter's widow. Her desire to cancel the garden party to spare the widow from the sounds of celebration during...
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her mourning reflects maturity, demonstrating her consideration and empathy.
Journey
The motif of a journey is utilized in this story to illustrate Laura's transformation from innocence to maturity. As the narrative progresses, Laura ventures from the confines of the Sheridan household, filled with domestic nuances, to the sunlit garden, and finally to a space beyond her initial sheltered environment. Her journey commences in the encroaching darkness as she crosses the road to where the path becomes "smoky and dark." She enters the cottage, walks through a "narrow, dark passage" into the cramped kitchen, passing the grieving widow with "swollen eyes and swollen lips," and ultimately gazes upon the tranquil face of the deceased carter at the journey's conclusion. By the end of this journey, Laura achieves a deep understanding of life and death.
Dream and Reality
Illusion and reality are central themes in "The Garden Party." The world of the Sheridan family is often portrayed as a dreamlike environment that suppresses and excludes the realities of the working class. The hardships of the real world are only hinted at in the delightful song that Jose performs before the garden party begins.
Laura embraces these upper-class illusions. For example, when she participates in the garden party's rituals, the world outside the event appears illusory to her: "She had a glimpse of that poor woman and those little children, and the body being carried into the house. But it all seemed blurred, unreal, like a picture in the newspaper." Even when Laura steps beyond the confines of the Sheridan garden, the dreamlike quality endures as she retains the sensations of the party within her—"It seemed to her that kisses, voices, tinkling spoons, laughter, the smell of crushed grass were somehow inside her."
Class Values and Self-Realization
Laura is still affected by all that has happened; she realizes that the hat represents the upper-class indifference that she has been taught, and which poorer persons—like the workmen erecting the marquee—would find objectionable. When she leaves the Scott house, these same class values—which she tries to dismiss as “absurd”—greet her in the person of her brother Laurie. Laurie tries to shield her from the pain of her experience by calling it “awful.” Laura, however, cannot even complete a sentence; she begins, “Isn’t life . . . ” Whether she will become contained by the views of her class remains to be seen. At the least, she realizes that her concerns about the party have been self-centered.
