“The Garden Party” is considered a classic Modernist short story. Katherine Mansfield, the story’s author, solely penned short stories. They were characterized by a sense of displacement, restlessness, and impermanence, all characteristics of the Modernist literary movement. Modernism developed during the 20th century as a new form of creative expression—a reaction, in part, to the horrors of World War I. Mansfield’s own brother was killed in the war, and the character Laurie Sheridan is presumed to be based on him.
Modernist authors sought to challenge and subvert traditional forms of writing. This is evident, for example, in the ambiguous ending of “The Garden Party,” as well as the story’s unique, shifting narrative voice. The story’s plot, too, is unconventional, in that it has an episodic quality, and the party that the title of the story refers to is only described in brief.
