Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage.

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The main heroine of Mansfield’s story, Laura Sheridan, is a girl intrigued by the idea of adulthood, as well as a character on a journey to understand the difference between social classes. Mansfield’s protagonist, being present in a work heavily influenced by Dickens, exists in a state between natural impulses and societal customs, oscillating between the two and unready to decide. Bringing the death of a carter to her mother’s attention, she is distracted by the offer of wearing an adult hat to a party, and she resigns to “remember it again after the party’s over.” Since Laura accepts the headdress, it may seem that personal growth is impossible when shadowed by societal expectations, and a consolation prize for going along with the scheduled event instead replaces it.

With Laura’s vanity getting the better of her, it would seem that the story has exhausted itself, but the trip to the dead carter’s cottage progresses the story’s exploration of mortality. However, this revelation of Laura’s remains inconclusive, with the heroine unable to put her experience to words, and with an upper-class tone coming back to dominate the narrative. The jarring switch back to this type of style, and, by proximity, to an elite-dominated setting, leaves the change of Laura’s character open to interpretation, not necessarily finding her wiser.

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Academic.Tips. (2021) 'Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage'. 10 September.

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Academic.Tips. (2021, September 10). Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage. https://academic.tips/question/discuss-the-character-of-laura-sheridan-in-katherine-mansfields-the-garden-party-including-the-conflict-between-her-natural-impulses-and-her-upbringing-as-well-as-what-she/

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Academic.Tips. 2021. "Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage." September 10, 2021. https://academic.tips/question/discuss-the-character-of-laura-sheridan-in-katherine-mansfields-the-garden-party-including-the-conflict-between-her-natural-impulses-and-her-upbringing-as-well-as-what-she/.

1. Academic.Tips. "Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage." September 10, 2021. https://academic.tips/question/discuss-the-character-of-laura-sheridan-in-katherine-mansfields-the-garden-party-including-the-conflict-between-her-natural-impulses-and-her-upbringing-as-well-as-what-she/.

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Academic.Tips. "Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage." September 10, 2021. https://academic.tips/question/discuss-the-character-of-laura-sheridan-in-katherine-mansfields-the-garden-party-including-the-conflict-between-her-natural-impulses-and-her-upbringing-as-well-as-what-she/.

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"Discuss the character of Laura Sheridan in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party,” including the conflict between her natural impulses and her upbringing, as well as what she learns or how she changes as a result of her trip to the dead carter’s cottage." Academic.Tips, 10 Sept. 2021, academic.tips/question/discuss-the-character-of-laura-sheridan-in-katherine-mansfields-the-garden-party-including-the-conflict-between-her-natural-impulses-and-her-upbringing-as-well-as-what-she/.

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