Fantasy Worlds in The Garden Party and Her First Ball by Katherine Mans

In the short stories The Garden Party and Her jump Ball, both written by the well-known New Zealand compose Katherine Mansfield, the importance of detail lies in several fields. As Mansfield herself states, there is an equivocal value and delight in detail and this is shown constantly as she uses it practically effectively to portray themes, provide us with a contrast amongst the two different settings and also paint us a take picture of the protagonists fantasy demesnes.Mansfield shows and doesnt tell. In both the short stories, she plunges you honest into the imaginative and personified worlds of the protagonists and then the plot follows. The detailed description of the perfect day for a garden-party depicts Lauras imaginations and excitement for this whole wonderful occasion. Every niggling detail such as the green bushes bowed down as though they had been visited by the archangels and the fact that the roses understood they are the only flowers that hit people at garden -parties adds to the angelic aura that Laura seems to have put out front so that we as the readers understand better her excitement and great prospicience. She is incorrupt by the worldly matters such as class distinctions at this mind as she is still in her own imaginative world of archangels. too for Leila in Her showtime Ball, everything is so magical, exactly the way it is in a fairyland. Everything around her is so strikingly new and enthralling. It is Leilas initiative ball, and her first exposition to society. Mansfield describes the young girls emotions and excitement in so much detail that it incarcerates us in the quaint fantasy world of Leila. Just like Laura, we also sense Leilas innocence, because her first sincere partner was th... ...escribed in colours of youth, innocence and purity criticise and eloquent programmes, pink and white flags, pink velvet cloak, pink pencils and pink chairs. Then the contrast sets in with color dispelling this girlish innocenc e and the untroubled atmosphere the black velvet cloaks of the mother, the fat mans black suit and the black night, which is threatening. We are held up in the joy and anticipation of Leilas first ball and with this detail, Mansfield crushes us. This contrast forces us to conclude that zilch can be held, nothing lasts forever. Whatever era we live in, the impermanence of life is what affects every living thing on this planet. All in all, every minute detail in The Garden Party and Her First Ball is very much significant in that detail is the culture medium through which Mansfield speaks to our minds. Not by telling us, but showing us.