Essay on Reflecting on the Dead - 1439 Words

Reflecting on the Dead In Katherine Mansfield’s â€Å"The Garden Party† and in D.H. Lawrence’s â€Å"Odour of Chrysanthemums,† two women were in a situation where death was literally at their feet. In â€Å"The Garden Party,† Laura finds herself contemplating the dead body of Mr. Scott, a man of lower class who lived at the bottom of the hill from her house. In â€Å"Odour of Chrysanthemums,† Elizabeth finds herself contemplating the dead body of her husband, Walter. Although the relationships these women shared with the dead men were completely opposite, they both had striking similarities in the ways that they handled the situation. Both women ignored the feelings of the families of the deceased, failed to refer to the deceased by name, felt shame in the†¦show more content†¦Obviously this was not a concern with the overall well-being of her children. It was merely a way to prevent the shock of seeing their dead father before they have been told of his p assing. Furthermore, the mother-in-law was also denied any sympathy from Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth acknowledged the mother-in-law â€Å"moaning† (Mansfield 2327) in her grief, she never expressed concern for the mother-in-law’s well-being. She was so caught up in her own feelings that she failed to consider her family. Although the family of the deceased was Elizabeth’s family and Laura had no relation to Mr. Scott or his family, both women showed only concern for themselves and no one else. In the presence of the dead men, Laura and Elizabeth never referred to the deceased by their names. In â€Å"The Garden Party,† Laura didn’t call Mr. Scott by his name. Throughout the story he was just referred to as â€Å"the man†. When Laura was standing over Mr. Scott, she still thought of him as â€Å"a young man† and simply â€Å"him† (Mansfield 2433). Despite Laura’s concern over his death, he was still of a lower class than her and not a part of her upper class world. The cottages around where Mr. Scott and his family lived were described as â€Å"disgusting and sordid,† and Laura used the word â€Å"creature† (Mansfield 2429) when referring to the widow and her sister. This suggests that she felt that Mr. Scott and his family were not thought of as people with names. To Laura they were creatures whoShow MoreRelatedTraditional Conservatism and New Right1019 Words   |  5 Pagesfragile set of relationships between and am ongst its parts. The whole is therefore more than just its individual parts. This implies that the individual cannot be separated from society, but is part of the social groups that nurture him or her, reflecting the dependent and security-seeking tendencies within human nature. Organic societies are fashioned ultimately by natural necessity, and therefore cannot be ‘improved’ by reform or revolution. 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