To What Extent Does “The Garden Party” Counter the Historical Views of Women of the Time?

[Your Full Name]
[Instructor or Professor's Name]
[Name of Class]
[Date]
“The Garden Party”
To what extent does “The Garden Party” counter the historical views of women of the time?
“The Garden Party” is a short story written by Katherine Mansfield in 1922. Laura, the main character is a very vibrant girl evolving from a fantasy life into a reality one. This story is mainly about development and maturity of Laura, who is a young rich character. The story was written during the progressive era, a period when the status of women tremendously changed. This is a period when women fought for their voting right and right to leadership. “The Garden Party” story majorly counters the historical women view of the time in a major way (Stephen 75).
The 1922 woman was stronger than before. This was a transformational era for women where they had fought for their right to vote and won; they were pursuing further education and even doing formal jobs than ever before. The story of “The Garden Party” counters this truth by portraying women as an oppressed being. In the story, Laura, her mother and sisters go through oppression in their social class, something that causes them to disrespect and show contempt to working class members, as a way of gaining power. Men in the upper class exert power on the upper class women, treat them like lesser human beings and limit their life options. It is for this reason that Sheridan women in turn oppress the lower class people. In reality, this is untrue because women during this progressive era were strongly defending themselves.
In the story, Katherine Mansfield displays women as totally powerless. She portrays Laura as being afraid of the men setting the tent. Women in the story are only to become hostess. Their major role is to prepare parties and make the house presentable for guests. Women in the story seem to be restricted to these roles with no opinion of their own. For instance, Tough Laura is supervising the setting of the tent; she has no power of deciding where the men should place it. In the story, women seem to lack self-governance; the only way they gain power is by treating badly the working class. In reality, the woman in this era had more voice than before; Women were seeking equality with men more than before. “The Garden Party” story shows women going through oppression from men within their class hence leading them to oppress the lower class people. This is un...