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Analysis of Katherine Mansfield’s The Garden-Party

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on August 6, 2022

Katherine Mansfield incorporated literary Modernism into the genre of the short story in The Garden-Party and Other Stories, published in 1922. The title story, written in 1921, emphasizes mood, emotion, and relationships of characters rather than plot and reveals the interior world of protagonist Laura, Mansfield’s representative, as she confronts class distinctions and considers the meaning of life and death.

Born in New Zealand in 1888, Mansfield moved to England in 1909. A visit from her brother in 1915 a month before he died in World War I stirred memories of her earlier life, and she began to place many of her stories in her homeland. “The Garden-Party,” one of the stories set in New Zealand, pictures the cloudless blue sky “veiled with a haze of light gold, as it is sometimes in early summer” (534) and the karaka trees “with their broad, gleaming leaves, and their clusters of yellow fruit” (536).

Frederick Carl Frieseke, Lilies, 1911

The first half of the story deals with preparations for the garden party: the placement of the marquee, the positioning of the pots of canna lilies, the preparation of the 15 types of party sandwiches. Mansfield uses her clear, lyrical prose to create the magnificence of the day. The rose bushes “bowed down as though they had been visited by archangels” (534), and Laura sees the karaka trees as “proud, solitary, lifting their leaves and fruits to the sun in a kind of silent splendor” (536).

The attraction Laura feels toward the working class becomes apparent during her encounter with the men who come to put up the marquee. The smile of “a lanky, freckled fellow” is “so easy, so friendly” (535) that it puts her at ease. When he pinches a sprig of lavender and smells it, she reflects, “Why couldn’t she have workmen for friends rather than the silly boys she danced with and who came to Sunday night supper?” (536).

Into this “perfect day” (534) intrudes the news of the death of a neighbor who lived in one of the “little cottages just below” (541). Laura decides immediately that the party must be canceled. Her sister Jose rejects the idea as foolish, and her mother seems “amused” (543) at the suggestion. Back in her room, Laura pictures the body of the dead man being carried into his house, but the scene seems “blurred, unreal” (544), and the party activities soon crowd it out.

As the family nibbles on party food after the guests have left, Mrs. Sheridan decides to send a basket of leftovers to the bereaved family and appoints Laura, who is horrified at what she considers to be her mother’s insensitivity, to make the delivery. On her way to the house, the surroundings take on symbolic meaning. She walks down the gleaming white road outside her family’s garden gates, crosses a wide road, and enters a “smoky and dark” lane (546). Approaching the house of the grieving family, Laura sees “a dark knot of people” (546). Inside she finds, to her amazement, that the dead man appears “wonderful, beautiful” (548). Later, when her brother asks about her visit, she responds, “ ‘It was simply marvelous’ ” (548), but she is unable to complete her sentence “ ‘Isn’t life—’ ” (549). She realizes that life and death are too complex to put into words—or to understand, for that matter.

Mansfield wrote “The Garden-Party” while she was dying of tuberculosis. She knew life and death and the joy and grief of both. In the introduction to The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield , J. Middleton Murray, Mansfield’s husband and primary publisher, wrote of his wife, “She loved life—with all its beauty and its pain” (xi). In “The Garden-Party” Laura experiences both the beauty and pain of life, but Mansfield, true to what George McLean Harper calls her “penetrating honesty” (232), leaves Laura at the end of the story groping for a satisfactory definition of life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Harper, George McLean. Literary Appreciations. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1937. Mansfield, Katherine. The Short Stories of Katherine Mansfield. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.

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The Garden Party

Katherine mansfield, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” follows Laura , a teenaged daughter of the wealthy New Zealand Sheridan family, as her family throws a garden-party at their estate. The early summer day could be no more perfect, and neither could the family garden; after the story’s opening paragraphs assert this in the formal register of English nobility, Laura’s mother sends Laura, “the artistic one,” to tell four workmen where to set up the marquee (a large outdoor tent). Laura takes her breakfast outside and is astonished to find four polite, strapping men who speak with an urgency and directness unlike anyone from her own social class. They negotiate about the marquee’s location, the workmen begin setting it up, and Laura complains about the “absurd class distinctions” that keep her from socializing with such “extraordinary nice” men like these.

The telephone rings and Laura runs inside to answer it, briefly encountering her father and her brother Laurie on the way. She answers it, invites a family friend to lunch, and hears the piano being moved in the other room. Sadie , one of the Sheridans’ domestic servants, tells Laura that the florist’s deliveryman has arrived. They meet him at the front door and see trays upon trays of beautiful pink canna lilies, which Mrs. Sheridan ordered on a whim the day before when she saw them in a shop window. Laura complains that her mother promised the children control over the party this year, but Mrs. Sheridan convinces her daughter to overlook her interference. The story jumps to the drawing-room, where another Sheridan daughter, Jose , sings the mournful song “This Life is Weary” with a “brilliant, dreadfully unsympathetic smile” while the third, Meg , accompanies her on the piano.

Again, Sadie interrupts the narrative to announce another working character’s request: the cook wants the name flags for the sandwiches she has made. Mrs. Sheridan has not written the flags yet but tells Sadie that she has them before ordering Laura to write the names. She accuses the children of hiding the envelope where the guest list is written, but finds it behind the dining-room clock. Laura writes the flags and brings them to the kitchen where Sadie has another announcement: the cream puff deliveryman has arrived from Godber’s. The cook tells Laura and Jose to have a cream puff each, and they scarf them down even though they find it improper to eat sweets so soon after breakfast.

Laura heads back to the garden but first encounters Godber’s man telling the horrified servants about the death of Scott , a cart-driver, in an accident that morning. She decides that it would be inconsiderate to continue the party because Scott lives in a row of decrepit cottages just downhill from the Sheridans’ estate. She tells this to her sister Jose, who accuses Scott of drinking on the job and finds Laura’s concern for the poor ridiculous. Laura then approaches her mother, who cares even less: Mrs. Sheridan is amused and irritated at Laura’s concern once she realizes the death didn’t happen in their garden. Mrs. Sheridan gives Laura her hat to distract her; once Laura sees herself in her bedroom mirror, she suddenly starts to see Scott’s death as “blurred, unreal, like a picture in the newspaper.” Laura changes her mind about the party and goes to lunch.

After lunch, Laurie returns from the office and Laura goes to ask his opinion on stopping the party. After her brother compliments her hat, Laura decides not to bring up the accident after all and goes to the party, which Mansfield recounts in scarcely half a page. After it ends, the Sheridans convene in the marquee and Mr. Sheridan mentions Scott’s accident. Mrs. Sheridan, irritated that her husband also wants to ruin their fun, makes fun of Laura and then suddenly has an idea: they should send their leftovers to the Scotts. Laura finds this presumptuous but agrees to take the basket herself.

Laura heads down to the cottages, where she is horrified at the unsightly residents and ashamed at her own expensive clothes. She decides to turn back but realizes she has already reached the Scott house; she knocks and tells Em’s sister , who answers the door, that she simply wants to leave the basket and go. But Em’s sister brings her inside nonetheless and introduces her to the man’s crying widow, Em Scott , who thanks Laura for coming but does not understand why she would visit at all. Laura tries to run out the front door but instead walks through the door of Scott’s room, where his body lies under a sheet. Em’s sister assumes that Laura must want to see him and draws down the sheet. To her surprise, Laura finds the body peaceful and marvelous; she sees the man as dreaming, far removed from the suffocating constraints of social convention. But she does recognize the tragedy in his death and exclaims “forgive my hat” before running out of the house and meeting her brother Laurie on the road outside. He embraces and comforts her as she cries but does not understand that hers are tears of joy; Laura starts to explain what she has realized but cannot finish her sentence. “Isn’t life—” she says, and the story ends with the narrator ’s insistence that Laurie “quite understood” and his entirely empty response: “ Isn’t it, darling?”

Jotted Lines

A Collection Of Essays

The Garden Party – Analysis – Essay

Most criticism of Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Garden Party” concentrates on the story as a truncated bildungsroman—a story of the growth and maturity of a young idealistic character. Critics such as Daniel S. Taylor in “Crashing the Garden Party: A Dream, A Wakening,” for example, see Laura’s initiation as a passage from the “dream world of her parents and social class to the real world of the Sheridan’s neighboring working-class.” As Taylor notes, describing the symbolic significance of the garden party, “The garden party epitomizes the dream world of the Sheridan women, a world whose underlying principle is the editing and rearranging of reality for the comfort and pleasure of its inhabitants. Its war is with the real world, whose central and final truth is death.” Similarly, Clare Hansen and Andrew Gurr, in “The Stories: Sierre and Paris,” discuss Laura’s evolution into adulthood as taking place in the context of a gulf between rich and poor—a gulf that is indicated by the Mansfield’s oppositional descriptions of the world of the Sheridans and the world of their less fortunate neighbors: 

“Words such as “perfect,” “delicious,” “beautiful,” “splendor,” “radiant,” “exquisite,” “brilliant,” “rapturous,” “charming,” “delightful,” “stunning,” convey the outward beauty of the Sheridan’s life … In striking contrast are words describing the working people and Saunders lane: “haggard,” “mean,” “poverty-stricken,” “revolting,” “disgusting,” “sordid,” “crablike,” “wretched.”” 

Given that “The Garden Party” was written in 1922 at the height of Marxist movements across Europe and Russia—which, among other things, attempted to understand class structure and identity—it is necessary to explore the way in which “The Garden Party” presents a picture of class interdependence. Specifically, “The Garden Party” is interesting to investigate for the way it portrays families like the Sheridans as being dependent for their class—identity on their always nearby working—class neighbors. Thus, rather than conceptualizing the worlds of the Sheridans and the worlds of the Scotts as diametric opposites whose paths seldom cross, this essay will explore the way in which “The Garden Party” presents the two worlds as always meeting and clashing—defining one and the other through their continual juxtaposition. 

“The Garden Party” is structured around the preparations for an early afternoon garden party. The sense of the Sheridans as inhabiting a dreamlike world is set out in the very first lines when the narrator comments on the ideal weather conditions for the garden party. “And after all the weather was ideal. They could not have had a more perfect day if they had ordered it. Windless, warm, the sky without a cloud.” The family, and particularly its female members, seem to derive their life-force from the carefree atmosphere in which they live. In the story’s first scene, Meg, one of Laura’s sisters, is seen sipping coffee, hair washed, wrapped in a green turban. Jose, another sister, is simply described as a butterfly who always “came down in a silk petticoat and a kimono jacket.” 

Mansfield, however, does not allow this sense of early morning luxuriance to go uninterrupted. Immediately, those upon whom the Sheridan sisters’ luxury depends burst in upon this scene of lazy breakfast-taking. Their entrance is signaled by a break in the narrator’s description of the garden and weather: “Breakfast was not yet over before the men came to put up the marquee.” The now down to-earth tone of this sentence connotes linguistically a clash between the lives of the Sheridan sisters and the men who must come at dawn to put up the marquee for the party. This interruption is further signaled when Laura, the main character who throughout the story attempts to bridge personally these two ever-present worlds, runs out to meet the workmen with breakfast—the signifier of her “Sheridan” life—in hand. Significantly, Laura feels embarrassed still holding the bread and butter when she comes to meet the workmen: “Laura wished now that she had not got the bread-and-butter, but there was nowhere to put it and she couldn’t possibly throw it away.” 

The reason for this awkwardness is precisely that the bread and butter, the piece of Sheridan life which she has taken with her, defines her to the workmen as not one of them but as opposite from them, and upper class. Laura attempts to mediate that duality by playing both roles—taking a big workman-like bite from her slice of refined Sheridan life while thinking of the “absurdity of class distinctions.” 

While Laura is exulting in her camaraderie with the workmen, one of them catches her attention. He seems somewhat apart from his compatriot—he does not share the general frivolity, and functions to once again remind Laura of their difference. Discussing the placement of the marquee, Laura remarks that there will be a band playing at the party. To this the workman replies,”H’m, going to have a band, are you?” After this remark, Laura notices that this workman “was pale,” and with a “haggard look as his dark eyes scanned the tennis court.” At this very moment, however, of a sense of mutual alienation, the workman picks and smells a sprig of lavender from the garden. Witnessing this, Laura feels their differences evaporate and “wonder(s) at him for caring for things like that—caring for the smell of lavender.” Once again, then, a moment of antimony, of unmediated difference of “two worlds,” is mediated by an action, this time on the part of one of the workmen rather than Laura. 

This sense of similar class identities is short-lived, however, as the narrative continues with the continued clashing and jarring of the two worlds. In fact, during the rest of the story there is never a moment where Saunders Lane is forgotten. Even at the dreamiest point in the Sheridan world, Saunders Lane is suggested in some way or another. For example, after Laura has met the workmen, she settles down for a moment and listens to the sound of the house. As she listens she finds that the house is an airy delight, “every door seemed open… And the house was alive with soft, quick steps and running voices.” Even this momentary enjoyment of the house’s heavenly comfort is interrupted by Saunders Lane. The interruption comes in the form of “a long chuckling absurd sound. It was the heavy piano being moved on its stiff castors.” Although we are told that Meg and Jose are involved in moving the piano, it is the servant Hans’s physical labor that Laura undoubtedly overhears. 

A more humorous (if not satirical) moment of potential mediation between the two worlds of the story is Jose’s absurd song with which she tests her voice. Jose has been earlier described as a “butterfly”—a girl of cream-puffs and linen dresses, and of course garden parties. Yet, the song that she sings is decidedly not of this type: “This life is Wee-ary,/ A Tear—A Sigh/A Love that Chan- ges/This life is Wee-ary.” Rather than the expected moment of unity between the Sheridan house and Saunders Lane, the absurd pairing of an emotionally calloused character like Jose with a song of sorrow and desperation serves instead to remind the reader that it is precisely the weariness of others that makes possible Jose’s butterfly-like existence. This antithesis of expression and experience is punctuated by Jose’s actions at the close of the song, 

“But at the word “goodbye”, and although the piano sounded more desperate than ever, her face broke into a brilliant, dreadfully unsympathetic smile, ‘Aren’t I in good voice, Mummy?’”

This mismatch of expression and character is underscored by the fact that this song is preceded by Jose giving orders to the servant, Hans, to rearrange the tables and to sweep the rug. 

The garden party is itself not fully described in the story. We are only privy to certain snatches of conversation—and these tell us that it has been a success, with Laura the center of much attention because of her black hat. Before the garden party, Laura’s mother, Mrs. Sheridan, had distracted Laura from thinking about the dead laborer and her wish to cancel the garden party by enticing her with a black hat. Laura had at first resisted this appeal to her vanity, but once she leaves her mother’s bedroom, she catches a glimpse of herself in the hat in her bedroom mirror. What she sees startles her, and serves to obliterate the image of the dead laborer. 

“There, quite by chance, the first thing she saw was this charming girl in the mirror, in her black hat trimmed with gold daisies, and a long velvet black ribbon. Never had she imaged she could look like that…. Just for a moment she had another glimpse of that poor woman and those little children, and the body being carried into the house. But it all seemed so blurred, unreal, like a picture in the newspaper.”

The hat thus functions at this moment to reinforce more than ever the division between the world of the Sheridans and the world of the Scotts. Suffused with vanity as a result of the hat’s charm, Laura forgets the tragedy down the hill, and more than ever desires to continue with the garden party. Even when confronted with her brother, Laurie— the family member with whom she is most emotionally intimate—Laura decides not to tell him of Scott once he has complemented her on her hat. 

Ironically, the hat—after the garden party—is a catalyst for a moment of understanding/connection between Laura’s world and the world of the Scotts. After the party, Laura’s mother suggests that Laura take a basket of party scraps down to Scott’s widow. At first, Laura questions the appropriateness of this gesture, but is soon convinced. Mrs. Sheridan also insists that Laura “run down just as [she is]”-in party dress and hat. Arriving at Saunders Lane, Laura soon feels awkward because of the way in which she is dressed. This awkwardness, I would argue, signals a moment of insight for Laura into the lives of the workers who live on this lane. She is disturbed because of the brightness of her frock and the extravagance of the famous hat: “how her frock shone! And the big hat with the velvet streamer—if only it was another hat!” Noting the difference between her dress and that of the laborers—tweed capped men and shawled women—Laura realizes the life absent of carefree happiness that the inhabitants of Saunders Lane must endure. A bright frock and an extravagant hat have no home here. Like the bread and butter episode, this piece of Sheridan life reveals to her the almost unsurmountable disjuncture between her life and the lives of these workers. 

The hat also functions to create another moment of insight for Laura when she is alone with the body of the laborer. When Laura enters the Scott home, she is immediately confronted with the sorrow-ravaged face of the laborer’s widow. Although Laura tries to escape as soon as it is possible, the widow’s sister insists that she view the now-peaceful body of Mr. Scott. Laura is soon overwhelmed by the peacefulness of the expression on the laborer’s face; particularly she is overcome by the remoteness of his appearance. “He was given up to his dream. What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all those things. He was wonderful, beautiful. While they were laughing and while the band was playing, this marvel had come to the lane.” Laura feels that she can not leave Scott without saying something that would indicate the affect that he has had on her— “She gave out a loud, childish sob … ‘Forgive my hat,’ she said.”

Although her plea is undoubtedly comical and absurd, it also carries within it a significant moment of understanding. As we have seen, the hat has heretofore functioned as a prime signifier of the division between the two worlds—earlier, the hat had caused Laura to forget the tragedy just down the hill. By apologizing for her hat, Laura is also apologizing for what it represents—class snobbery, selfishness, and the almost unsurmountable psychological and social division between the world of the laborers and the world of the Sheridans. The hat, then, here facilitates a moment of connection—of class similarity—through its very significance as a symbol of division and antimony. The story concludes with Laura meeting her brother, Laurie, in Saunders Lane. Her demeanor with him indicates that she has been touched by the universality of death and life—both know neither class borders nor garden parties. 

Source Credits:

Ira Mark Milne (Editor), Short Stories for Students – Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories, Volume 8, Katherine Mansfield, Published by Thomson Gale, 2000.

Jennifer Rich, “Overview of ‘The Garden Party,”‘ in Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 2000.

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The Garden Party

By katherine mansfield, the garden party essay questions.

Why do many of Mansfield’s stories end on an ambiguous note?

As a modernist Mansfield often experimented with form. Her ambiguous endings are very stylistic and a mark of her mastery of the genre. An admirer of the French Impressionists, Mansfield’s work often details a very specific moment in time such the “Bank Holiday” or “The Lady’s Maid.” Her work often contains impressions or moments of self awareness like Laura’s epiphany in “The Garden Party.” Character information is presented in reverse, slowing revealing the character’s past and guiding the reader toward a better understand of the character’s present. The author purposely leaves room for the possibility of many different endings for stylistic purposes and perhaps in imitation of the unpredictability of life.

Class relations are strained in several stories within the text, especially in "The Garden Party," which takes the perspective of the upper class. Provide an example from the text from the perspective of the lower class, and discuss how they are treated by the upper class.

In “Life of Ma Parker,” the title character works as a maid for an unnamed gentleman of leisure. Upon hearing the news of her grandson’s death and burial the gentleman expresses his condolences but does little to comfort Ma Parker. She becomes lost in her memories of the past while she works until she is interrupted by the literary gentleman. He shows little compassion for her circumstances when he reprimands her for discarding the last of his cocoa without his permission, a veiled attempt to remind her of who has the authority in their relationship. The triviality of their interaction reveals his lack of respect and disconnect toward Ma Parker and her unfortunate circumstances.

Why is Mansfield’s narrative style unique for her time period?

Mansfield’s narrative style was unique because she told stories from a female perspective, an uncommon practice in the early twentieth century even for modernists. She wrote from both the male and female point of view, sometimes interchanging them within the same story as in “At the Bay.” This provided for a more in-depth analysis of daily life through the eyes of both sexes while drawing attention to changing societal assumptions concerning gender roles.

The sea is used as setting in several stories within the text and establishes mood in others. Provide an example in which the sea accomplishes both.

In “At the Bay’ the sea is not only a backdrop in the daily life of Crescent Bay, it plays an integral part in establishing the story’s fluctuating mood and provides a common meeting place for the characters to interact. The sea is central in the lives of the characters of Crescent Bay who incorporate it into their daily lives through various social activities Mansfield also uses the sea to emphasize the changing moods of the characters as the day progresses. For example, the calm morning sea helps usher in a new day for Stanley Burnell as he bathes. The low tide of afternoon welcomes the socialization of the women and children. Later a temperamental sea reflects the unease of Beryl Fairchild during her night time exchange with Mr. Harry Kember.

Of the female characters in Mansfield’s stories, who is most like the author?

The Garden Party is loosely based on the author’s own adolescence as a young socialite in Wellington, New Zealand with her family. Like the Sheridans, Mansfield’s family lived in a large house and were lavish in their lifestyle. Of the Sheridan children, Laura is most like Mansfield in personality and perspective as she too found her family’s apathy toward the poor unsatisfactory.

Why are there no main characters in "Bank Holiday," and how is this significant in relation to the other stories in the text?

The characters of the "Bank Holiday" are mostly faceless with generic characteristics and commonplace descriptions. They are soldiers, girls, musicians, families, the elderly etc. They are distinctive only in what they are doing, who they are with and what they have bought. Social classes mix and mingle as a community comes together to celebrate their national holiday. As one entity the crowd moves forward up a hill and in doing so becomes the one character of significance in the story. The lack of main characters is distinctive in relation to Mansfield’s other work in the text because all of the other stories have at least one main character.

Some of Mansfield’s male characters find themselves either battling against their sense of duty toward family, or becoming overly attached to their work. Provide an example juxtaposing male characters within the same story who meet this description.

In “At the Bay” Stanley Burnell and Jonathan Trout are foils of one another. Stanley prides himself on a solid worth ethic while Jonathan wishes to escape his duties and live his life as he pleases. Both are settled with families to provide for and they each express their hurt feelings toward having to work for a living. Yet Stanley dutifully goes to the office each workday and although he does not always feel appreciated at home for his hard effort he does not shirk his responsibilities unlike Jonathan who reluctantly goes to the office but finds it difficult to carry on and indulges in fantasies of a better life away from the tediousness of the work and in doing so he falls short of his and everyone else’s expectations.

Music is often used in Mansfield’s work to expression emotion. In which story does the main character use music to express first her overwhelming sadness and then her joy?

In “The Singing Lesson” the main character, Miss Meadows, is devastated that her fiancé has called off their wedding. She is unable to control her emotions during her singing lesson with her students and asks them to sing a lament. Miss Meadow’s rude behavior influences their performance and she instructs them to “feel” the music and the students soon grow angry and depressed as a reflection of Miss Meadow’s own mood. Later Miss Meadow’s elation at the news that her wedding is still on is reflected in her second music choice and she leads her class in a jaunty tune.

The Garden Party Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Garden Party is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is the theme of death in the garden party?

A minor theme in comparison to life, death is the catalyst by which change occurs in a number of key stories within the overall work. Mr. Scott’s death in "The Garden Party" awakens in Laura Sheridan, the main character, a dislike of her family’s...

How death and It's acceptance as a theme has been incorporated in Mansfield's "The Garden Party"?

The death of Mr. Scott, only a passing acquaintance, shocks Laura into action. She feels it would be incredibly rude of her family to proceed with their garden party so soon after Mr. Scott’s death especially because he lived and died so close to...

How does the mood in the story change on p. 10 when Laura goes to the cottages down the hill? What type of concrete details does the author use to change the mood?

There is a rather sudden shift in mood as Laura enters the Cottages. There is a sort of apprehensive melancholy as dusk begins. There is a shadowy bog and the cottages began to be shaded in an oppressive way.

Study Guide for The Garden Party

The Garden Party study guide contains literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Garden Party
• The Garden Party Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Garden Party

The Garden Party essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.

• Marxism in Mansfield
• “The Daughters of the Late Colonel” as a Modernist Work
• Literary Devices in "Miss Brill"
• Discoveries That Broaden Understanding: Katherine Mansfield and Robert Gray
• Definitions of Place: Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf

Lesson Plan for The Garden Party

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Garden Party
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Garden Party Bibliography

E-Text of The Garden Party

The Garden Party e-text contains the full text of The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.

• 1. AT THE BAY.
• 2. THE GARDEN PARTY.
• 3. THE DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL.
• 4. MR. AND MRS. DOVE.
• 5. THE YOUNG GIRL.

Wikipedia Entries for The Garden Party

• Introduction
• Characters in "The Garden Party"
• Major themes
• References to other works

• Entertainment
• Environment
• Information Science and Technology
• Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Literature

Essay Samples on The Garden Party

Analysis of class interests in the garden party.

The conflict of interest between the upper-class Sheridan family regarding the death of their neighbour Mr. Scott seems purposely emphasized by Mansfield to shed light on the presence of prejudice to the working class living in modern communities. The social class division became coherent when...

• Short Story
• The Garden Party

"The Garden Party" And The Concept Of Marxism

This short story offers a Marxist reading as it employs the concept of social divisions and class constructs paired with the historic setting of society in the Victorian era. 1921 certainly portrays a time when appearance and style were much more important than substance, and...

Class Systems In The Garden Party And Other Mansfield's Works

“For class is a type of bubble, a membrane around one, and although one might grow within this membrane, and strain against it, it is impossible to break free from it” (Gowar 159). The recurring theme of class systems and its resulting conflict is prominent...

• The Story of An Hour
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Katherine Mansfied's "The Garden Party": Epiphany of Religion

This short story is reflecting on a sudden change in a main character’s life by experiencing something new. This sudden change is also known as an epiphany. When Laura a main character, suddenly has an understanding of feeling different in her life, with a sympathy...

• Christian Worldview
• Protagonist

The Garden Party: The Eventful Gathering of the Family

Katherine Mansfield leaves the character of Laura Sheridan moderately undeveloped because journalists of this period, Modernism, were trying different things with another, distinctive style. World War I had as of late finished, and the war had delivered a very destabilizing impact on current society. Pioneer...

• Family Values

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The Garden Party: The Struggles of Decreased Self-Confidence

During the story there is an uncertainty about the protagonist at the end. You as the reader are unsure what kind of change the character has gone through, positive or negative? In “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield the character Laura is the protagonist of...

Best topics on The Garden Party

1. Analysis Of Class Interests In The Garden Party

2. “The Garden Party” And The Concept Of Marxism

3. Class Systems In The Garden Party And Other Mansfield’s Works

4. Katherine Mansfied’s “The Garden Party”: Epiphany of Religion

5. The Garden Party: The Eventful Gathering of the Family

6. The Garden Party: The Struggles of Decreased Self-Confidence

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Homes & Gardens

29 brilliant garden party ideas

Posted: March 7, 2024 | Last updated: March 7, 2024

Looking for glorious garden party ideas? From table settings and mood lighting to ways to keep warm, we've got all the inspiration you need to throw a special event

Want to impress your guests and throw a dazzling event to remember? These garden party ideas are just what you need. After all, with warmer weather, your outdoor space makes the perfect backdrop to host a special occasion.

Styling things up for a big (or small) do is tons of fun, whether it's introducing a new feature such as a garden bar for alfresco cocktails, or simply getting creative with garden decor ideas and tea lights for a chilled-out vibe. There are the practicalities to think about too, such as the best furniture for easy socializing, ways to keep warm, or even a space to cook the food. And don't forget about the entertainment!

There's lots to bear in mind, but we're here to help you on your way to party planning success.

Elevate a picnic party with a tipi

Picnics are full of summer charm and are a lovely way to spend a warm afternoon. But instead of trekking off to the local beach or park, how about throwing a picnic party right in your own backyard?

Lay down comfy rugs, picnic blankets, and plenty of cushions to instantly make your guests feel at ease. And, why not add a colorful tipi or two? It will evoke a whimsical vibe and stir a childlike sense of play, as well as providing a spot of shade for those who need it.

Serve up platters of finger food and sliced fresh fruit so everyone can dive in easily. Bunting strung up beneath trees or along fences will add to the joyous scene.

Bring your dining table outdoors

If your outdoor table is a little small for large-scale entertaining, then don't be afraid to put your indoor table and chairs to good use. Bringing them out onto the lawn or patio just for the day will instantly give your backyard a refreshed look and make it feel more special.

String up festoons overhead from nearby trees or fences for an atmospheric glow once the sun begins to set. A jumble of different sized vases filled with both fresh and dried flowers and foliage; wooden boards; mix and match table linens and cut glass tumblers will form an eclectic and relaxing vibe. Add blankets and cushions too, to keep everyone toasty should a breeze pick up.

Decorate your garden chairs for a party vibe

If you're looking for garden party ideas on a budget, then how about this pretty look? It's ideal for giving a lift to foldaway chairs and is oh-so-simple to recreate.

All you need is a handful of brightly colored ribbons to add to your outdoor seating. They will look gorgeous as they flutter in the breeze and will add an instant summery feel to any space. Finish the look with tie-on cushions for an extra dose of vibrancy and to up the comfy factor.

Create a photo zone for party memories

From selfies to group shots – you can be sure that they'll be a camera or two floating around at your next garden bash. So why not embrace it and help those memories last forever with a dedicated photo zone?

You could hang thrifted frames from tree branches, or create a stylish backdrop with an old decorated sheet (or even go for an on-trend flower wall if you're looking for something a little fancier).

And how about setting up a dress-up trunk nearby, full of hats, sunglasses, and other fun props? Position a handful of disposable cameras on a small table ready to be used. Then, you can enjoy the element of surprise when you develop them at a later date – the pictures will be priceless.

Accent place settings with fragrant lavender

If you already have lavender growing in your garden, you'll know that summer is the time where it really comes into its prime. Its gorgeous fragrance and purple hue will enchant any visitor. So why not bring it into your place settings when planning your garden party ideas?

Just a simple sprig on each plate, perhaps along with a stem or two of aromatic rosemary and tied with jute, is a small but charming touch. Continue the theme by a potted version as a centerpiece, then dot tea lights around for a romantic glow.

Set up garden games

No matter your age, garden games are always a fun way to pass the time at parties. This is especially the case if there are teams and score boards involved (and perhaps a beer or two for the grown-ups!).

Piñatas, giant Jenga blocks, boules – there are plenty to choose from. And if you don't want to splash the cash, you can get creative making your own. A game of ring toss is simple to set up yet can provide hours of fun – all you need is some old glass bottles, a crate, and some hoops (you can make these out of rope secured with tape). Decorate them with durable spray or chalk paint for an extra dose of pizzazz.

Make party favors for your guests with printed paper bags

Fabulous garden party ideas are all good and well, but to really make a lasting impression, consider putting together party favors for your guests to take home.

Get creative by printing colorful designs onto paper bags – it's a cheap and cheerful approach but will still be well-received. Then, fill with a small selection of goodies: crayons, sweets, jewellery, lip balms, or even mini bottles of toiletries or cocktails for adults.

Make them part of your party's decorations by hanging them up enticingly with string and pegs. It's an easy way to pep up your garden wall, and you can then hand them out easily as your guests leave.

Try a blue and yellow palette

Picking a few complementary tones is a great way to theme your garden party ideas. A well-considered palette can totally transform a space.

Take this blue and yellow duo for instance – a wonderful combination for a summery bash. We especially love the combination of yellow roses and blue delphiniums alongside the traditional china.

Don't forget about napkins too. They're an easy yet elegant way to help dress the table, especially if you opt for fabric types with napkin rings. 'The prettiest silver rings can easily be found in antique shops or on online auction sites. Alternatively, tie the napkins with a ribbon and finish off the look with a little flower head slotted in,' says Paul Thomas-Jeffreys, Founder and Creative Director of Paul Thomas.

Get creative with cocktails

Extra special drinks are a must-have for a successful garden party. And you can never go far wrong with an interesting menu of cocktails.

For a summer soirée, take inspiration from your surroundings and opt for a botanical theme. 'Why not decorate and flavor your cocktails using everything local and in season?' says Hannah Clegg, Founder of The Natural Hire Company for Kocktail. 'Edible flowers from the garden make a beautiful garnish for any drink, adding extra color and fun to the styling of your party.'

Fresh mint or even basil, both picked from your herb garden, also make well-loved additions to refreshing tipples.

Throw a classic tea party

Love the romantic charm of cottage garden ideas? Then consider throwing a quintessentially-English garden tea party.

Have a rummage through local thrift stores for vintage tableware – think teapots, sugar bowls, and tiered cake stands. Add a linen table cloth in a pastel hue (or opt for a delicate lace design), serve up a classic sponge and sandwiches, and don't forget plenty of sweetly-scented roses as a centerpiece.

Recreate a holiday vibe

Singapore Sling anyone? Bring a touch of Raffles-style glamour to your patio ideas with a stylish plantation-style wicker bar set. That way, you can truly relax over chilled pre-dinner drinks as it will feel like being on holiday.

This set above is made of maintenance-free wicker and comes with four bar stools and a table. Plus, it has a removable ice bucket in the center for keeping your bottle of bubbly within arm's reach.

Add a swing seat so guests can unwind

Perfect for parties, garden swing seats is just the thing for catching up with a friend over a glass of something chilled. This one is made of on-trend macramé and we love the tassel trim, which adds just the right touch of boho.

Style it up with some cushions and a throw in case it gets chilly later.

Serve drinks in style

You can never have enough glasses at a party. Try mix and matching styles to give your set-up a more eclectic vibe.

This selection includes highball glasses and champagne saucers. Plus, there's a cocktail shaker for mixing up the mojitos, a gin cocktail jug with stirrer for summer's essential drink, and a cool art-deco-style ice bucket.

If you're doing cocktails and canapés, you'll need a big table to prep everything on, too. The weathered grey finish of this design adds a contemporary touch.

Opt for music and lights in one

Great if space is tight on a terrace or balcony, this combi speaker, light and powerbank for phone charging is a great multi-tasking gadget for the garden. It works via Bluetooth and plays up to 20 hours of music before it needs recharging.

What's more, the lantern has a dimming function for creating the right mood.

Cool drinks fast

Great for chilling down beers, a galvanized steel trough always looks good. It's also super-practical, as you can carry it to your preferred spot and relax rather than trekking to the fridge.

Instead of sticking it in the shed at the end of summer, why not turn it into a stylish herb garden for the windowsill?

Pick a table with an integrated ice bucket

Want to go one step further? Opt for stylish garden tables that have an ice bucket built in. That way, you'll never have to break away from the party to grab a fresh bottle from indoors.

This sleek design makes a great addition to a relaxed evening with friends on the patio. And, for every-day use, the cover can be slotted back in to make more space.

Create a party vibe with balloons

Decorating your garden with some balloons adds an instant celebratory touch whatever the occasion. Choose clear ones that have been pre-filled with sparkly confetti for a stylish look.

Sticking to one design makes more of a statement and is a great way of dressing up an outdoor table.

Build atmosphere with lighting

Choose a selection of backyard party lighting to add that all-important glow at dusk – the evening garden needs lots of lights to get the right effect.

For the best results add layers of lighting at different heights. Start with tea lights in glass jars and hurricane lights at table height, then add festoon lights looped through the branches of shrubs, around pergolas or along fences.

Go for a laid-back party vibe

Create some magic with candles grouped together on the table to throw out some ambient light. Garden mirror ideas will pick up and enhance the flickering glow.

Add textured floor cushions or some bean bags and faux-fur throws for a chill-out vibe that will instantly transport you to your favorite holiday destination. Rooftop terrace in Morocco anyone?

Make serving drinks a breeze

Create a dedicated space to prepare and serve drinks where you have everything you need without running back to the house.

Choose a design that's made of robust yet lightweight powder-coated aluminium. Not only is it shower-resistant but you can also move it around the patio if you need to. This outdoor kitchen bar above is designed to position alongside the BBQ and has plenty of space for drinks and accessories.

Party plan your space

If you're expecting a crowd you'll need plenty of occasional tables and butlers trays dotted here and there. After all, nothing's worse than having to nurse warm drinks as there's nowhere safe to put them down.

This foldaway ash wood table is ideal and – even better – it comes with all the glasses and dishes you'll need, plus an ice bucket. And, you can use the removable tray top to circulate drinks to your guests.

Serve up home-cooked pizzas

It's easy to recreate that authentic wood-fired taste with a pizza oven. This smart design above can also be used for grilling steaks and smoking food.

But, if you don't fancy doing it yourself, take a look at hiring a pizza oven for the weekend – you could even hire a chef for the evening, too.

Add a cozy cocoon for cooler evenings

Daybeds are good for evening get-togethers as they provide a snug retreat if things get chilly or if there's a sudden shower. Just add some lanterns to make it even cozier as you snuggle up.

This handwoven rattan one is fully waterproof and even has wine-proof cushions. Bliss!

Set the scene with spotlights

These glass blown outdoor lamps add a sophisticated touch to any outdoor space. Whether you choose to arrange them individually or grouped together they will add drama to the night time garden that's perfect for parties.

Warm things up with a patio heater

Patio heaters often get bad press due to their energy rating but this design above has zero emissions plus covers an area up to five meters. It can also be left outside all year-round as it's made from stainless steel and aluminium.

So, you can carry on partying in the garden however chilly the evening gets. There is also the option of waterproof Bluetooth speakers that fit neatly into the base.

The weather can have a habit of getting in the way of even the best laid party plans. But you can weatherproof your outdoor space to add protection from both showers and intense sunlight.

While a pop-up gazebo is a great budget option for infrequent use, if you want something more permanent, something like this design above is a great investment. It has tilting blades that let you decide exactly how much protection you need and can be installed free-standing or wall-mounted onto the back of your house.

Dress up a wall with ornate screens

These screens add a decorative note to enhance the party mood. You can also use them to divide up your garden according to your party needs.

Use them to create a chill-out zone, adding Moroccan themed cushions, some outdoor rugs, and lanterns.

Gather round a fire pit

Stylish fire pits are perfect for extending alfresco get-togethers late into the night. It also means you can carry on entertaining in the garden right into autumn.

The neat dimensions of this style make it a snug addition to small spaces.

Fire up the BBQ as part of your garden party ideas

If you're feeding a crowd, BBQs will make easy work of it. This style shown here has a large fire pit at the center and a tempered steel top plate for fast cooking Teppanyaki style food. And, it has a side table for easy prepping and a storage shelf below for barbecue tools and marinades, so you can keep everything you need on hand.

Another plus is that less smoke is produced as the base has been designed to direct airflow. Keep the fire stoked once the barbecue's over and everyone can keep partying till late.

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The Garden Party

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1. Using the setting of a garden party, Mansfield explores the idea of class consciousness from the perspective of a well-to-do family.

• How is Laura’s awareness of her class different from her family’s? ( topic sentence )
• Find three examples in which Laura exhibits an understanding of class consciousness.
• How does Laura’s journey of self-awareness throughout the story speak to the larger theme of Class Distinction and Class Consciousness ?

2. As a coming-of-age story, “The Garden Party” presents the ability to exhibit empathy toward others as a marker of adulthood.

• For Laura, how does empathy relate to maturity? ( topic sentence )

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Abolishing New Jersey's county party line is only a beginning. OPRA must be strengthened

3-minute read.

The court ruling overturning the county party line is an important first step to bringing New Jersey residents the democracy they deserve. Assuming the court decision holds, as seems likely, it will eliminate the unfair ballot favoritism that gave the endorsed candidates of county political parties — who are often selected by a few party bosses — a big advantage. This leveling of the playing field will be an incentive for more candidates to compete for the nomination of their political party, and with competition comes quality.

This welcome development, however, by itself will not provide the reforms needed to empower all New Jerseyans to participate robustly in finding and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our towns, state and country. It’s time to use the reform momentum created by this victory to move New Jersey to the head of the pack on citizen empowerment.

What NJ can do next

Here are three major steps we can take:

• Building on the requirements of New Jersey’s 2009 Party Democracy Act, mandating that all county political parties adopt rules for their operation, the neighborhood-level party representatives can advance party reforms to further empower citizens. They can, for example, move to require that all candidate endorsements be made by a secret ballot vote — preferably employing voting machines to ensure confidentiality — of the grassroots county committee members. This is a reform I instituted when I served as chair of the Middlesex County Democratic Party. It led to a more diverse and qualified set of candidates. 
• Instead of moving to gut the state’s open records law , as state legislative leaders seem bound and determined to do, we can strengthen and modernize it. Seizing on the advances in technology since the law’s passage more than 20 years ago, we should create easier and more universal access to government records. We should require municipal, county and state governments, for instance, to place all ordinances, laws and resolutions in searchable databases and to post “citizens budgets” on their websites, providing budget information in a standard, user-friendly way. This would have the added advantage of reducing the need for specific records requests.
• We should reverse the gutting of New Jersey’s pay-to-play protections that occurred last year with the adoption of the sham Elections Transparency Act.  This law is taking a sledgehammer to the protections that were designed to ensure high-quality, cost-effective, government contracting, practically guaranteeing a return to the bad old days, when New Jersey government at all levels wasted hundreds of millions of tax dollars on bloated contracts that yielded sub-par results. Let’s put these essential protections back in place and strengthen the rules against circumvention, along with upping the penalties to provide a stronger deterrent.

Ed Forbes: What's next for government transparency in NJ? Trenton must move smartly — and listen

Coupled with the abolishment of the party line, these major reforms will create a more robust, open and transparent democracy in the Garden State. It will better enable us to tap all the common sense, ingenuity and good ideas of New Jerseyans and move our state forward.

Harry Pozycki, founder of The Citizens Campaign and The Citizen Service, helped lead the successful fights for the adoption of the Party Democracy Act, the Open Public Records Act and New Jersey state and local pay-to-play laws .

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Guest Essay

There Is a Way Out of MAGA Domination

By Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner

Mr. Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Wehner is a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum.

A few weeks ago, Mike Pence did what no other vice president in the modern era has done: He refused to endorse the re-election of the president under whom he served. When it comes to alumni of Donald Trump’s administration, Mr. Pence is hardly alone; the list of high-ranking officials who worked for Mr. Trump and have implied or outright stated that they can’t support their former boss under any circumstances has grown to an astonishing length .

The list of prominent Republican figures who did not serve under Mr. Trump and who regard him as unacceptable is equally impressive. It includes the 2012 Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, and his running mate, the former speaker of the House Paul Ryan, as well as Liz Cheney, who served in the House Republican leadership, and her father, the former vice president Dick Cheney, who summarized the situation bluntly : “There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”

Despite Mr. Trump’s almost effortless sweep of the Republican nomination contest, there remain deep pockets of resistance to him in the ranks. More than a fifth of voters in the Republican primaries supported Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina; among many of them, there is intense opposition to Mr. Trump’s presidential run. And as The Washington Post points out , nearly one in five Republican primary voters across four contests on April 2 voted for an option other than Mr. Trump — even though he was the only Republican still campaigning at that point.

So two things are happening at once: The Republican Party is thoroughly MAGA and will be for the foreseeable future, and there is a small but influential number of Republicans who are deeply opposed to what their party has become but not prepared to shed their political identity and join the Democrats.

For this group, one viable course remains: create a Republican Party in exile, a counterestablishment dedicated to recapturing the party from the outside.

In world history, exiles, expatriates and their movements have played important roles in fighting unjust regimes. They bring detailed knowledge of their country and its politics to bear on efforts to change the government. They assemble agendas and personnel for its eventual replacement. They provide a rallying point and inspiration for regime opponents who otherwise might succumb to fatalism and fatigue. They connect and coordinate disparate exile factions.

Not least important, they show the world that they are committed to the fight and will not accept the legitimacy or inevitability of the current regime. To get a sense of the inspiration they can provide, think of Charles de Gaulle and Free France, the government in exile that was established in London after France fell during World War II.

There are, of course, profound differences between the task faced by de Gaulle in 1940 and the problem of reconquering the Republican Party today. But they share this position: Psychologically, an exile movement must recognize that it does not have a place in the system and must work from outside it.

That is a conceptual bridge that many anti-MAGA Republicans have been unready to cross. Yes, they have acknowledged the dominance of MAGA in the party. Yet they have hoped to act effectively as a faction within it.

Until now, Republicans who opposed Mr. Trump could point to state and local politics, where non-MAGA Republicans — and, much more rarely, anti-MAGA Republicans — have won elections, sustaining a Republican rump faction that holds MAGA at arm’s length. Non-MAGA Republicans believed that the party would feel stung by MAGA’s record of regularly losing elections that Republicans ought to have won, including the loss of the presidency by an incumbent, control of the Senate in the 2020 election cycle and the fizzle in the 2022 midterms, when voters in race after race surgically excised extreme MAGA candidates.

Non-MAGA Republicans expected that the multiple indictments of Mr. Trump would discredit him in the eyes of G.O.P. primary voters or at least lead them to abandon him as a likely loser. They imagined that Mr. Trump’s increasingly unhinged and self-absorbed behavior would alienate his supporters. They supposed that Mr. Trump might lose the nomination if forced into a one-on-one race with a single strong contender. And they thought, if all else failed, that the Republican base might simply grow bored with the stale, repetitive and witless Trump show.

Those suppositions turned out to be wrong, and Ms. Haley’s loss to Mr. Trump in the Republican primaries has extinguished all of them. Mr. Trump will be crowned in July. He commands cultlike loyalty among his MAGA base. He has taken over the machinery of the Republican Party. His election to the White House in November would further consolidate his control of the party, but even if he is defeated, MAGA will not believe it lost fairly and therefore will not willingly relinquish its grip.

Which brings us back to the non-MAGA faction. With its paths blocked inside the party, it can still bring formidable people, resources and ideas to the task of defeating MAGA from the outside, as an exiled party.

What would this mean in practice? A G.O.P. in exile — the Free Republicans, as it were — can be a loose network of organizations, think tanks, politicians, consultants, donors and activists; it can have a more formal structure, with its own national committee, state chairs and staff. It might hold conventions, develop chapters and auxiliaries and approve a platform, or it might rely on a more decentralized strategy that supports and coordinates assorted efforts to build a bench of anti-MAGA talent and ideas. Regardless of how those tactical choices are made, four strategic principles should define the project.

First, the Free G.O.P. should fully accept its exile status. No daydreaming about being welcomed back into the MAGA party any time soon. The project must look beyond the next month, the next year and the next election. It cannot be impatient or easily discouraged.

Second, even as the Free G.O.P. accepts its outsider status — even as it acknowledges MAGA’s control of the Republican Party — it should identify unwaveringly as the true Republican Party and reject the moral legitimacy of the Trump regime. The Free G.O.P. would insist that it, not MAGA, lays claim to the heritage of the party of Lincoln.

Third, the Free G.O.P. should develop an agenda — or, more realistically, a set of agendas — for a post-MAGA future. According to The Hill, Mr. Pence’s political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, “plans to invest $20 million this year to shape the conservative agenda, an effort to directly counter what Pence had previously described as populism ‘unmoored to conservative principles.’”

The former vice president is putting his name on the line to oppose the Trumpian populism that controls the Republican Party. He and his partners have the right idea: Free Republicans must develop ideas and conversations about what 21st-century conservatism should look like. Looking backward to a pre-Trump G.O.P. won’t succeed.

Fourth and most essential, Free Republicans must set their sights on overthrowing MAGA, not influencing it, partnering with it, bargaining with it, coexisting with it or waiting it out. They must name and explain what Trumpism represents: lawlessness, moral anarchy, conspiratorial thinking and an assault on the Constitution. They must challenge MAGA Republicans in primaries, focusing in particular on state races for governor, attorneys general, state legislators and others. They must be prepared to withstand the hostile machinations of the MAGA Republican Party and the attacks of the Trump movement, which will be relentless. If they do not consistently oppose MAGA, they will be dragged under it.

A party in exile would establish a gathering point for emerging leaders and fresh thinkers. It would be a clearinghouse for resources and strategies with which to assail the MAGA establishment. It would train candidates, build political networks, gather donors and supporters and show the public a brighter future.

And the Free Republican Party would keep the fires of conservatism burning. In its travels from Lincoln to Reagan and the Bushes, the Republican Party has metamorphosed many times, as adaptable parties must. But it has stayed true to certain conservative fundamentals: the rule of law, the value of institutions, the necessity of virtue and (as George Will has said) the belief that the vision of the founders is what American conservatism conserves. Free Republicans can rightly claim title to the party’s ideological crown jewels, which MAGA’s nihilistic flimflam has tossed in the dumpster.

Recent history is replete with examples of seemingly marginal political movements that moved with surprising speed to overthrow exhausted establishments, including Goldwater-Reagan conservatism in the 1960s, supply-side economics in the 1970s, the New Democrats in the 1980s and the Gingrich revolution in the 1990s. If anti-MAGA Republicans unite, they can experience similar success.

Even if MAGA’s grip on the party were irresistible, organizing in opposition would still be worth it, because some things are worth fighting for. But it is also true that the MAGA movement, built on lies and antagonistic to America’s founding principles, is unsustainable. Its unpopularity and indecency will generate openings for challenge and change. The job of the Republican Party in exile is to identify, create and exploit such openings — and above all, to be ready when they appear.

Jonathan Rauch ( @jon_rauch ) is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of “ The Constitution of Knowledge : A Defense of Truth.” Peter Wehner ( @Peter_Wehner ) is a contributing Opinion writer and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum who served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He is the author of “ The Death of Politics : How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump.”

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