“The garden party”, de Katherine Mansfield, como um conto de iniciação

Abstract

The aim of this work is to discuss the short story “The garden party”, written by Katherine Mansfield, focusing on the concept of initiation narrative. For this purpose, we have adopted the following methodology: first of all, we became acquainted with the historical-literary context of the author; after that, we collected theoretical-critical material about initiation narratives; furthermore, we read other initiation short stories to increase our knowledge about their characteristics, in order to eventually deepen the discussion of the short story “The garden party”. We have used, as main theoretical basis, the text by Mordecai Marcus, “What is an initiation story?”, but other meanings of the term “initiation” are added to the discussion. The analysis of Mansfield’s short story, by means of the initiation concept, inevitably emphasizes the relevance of the character Laura, her process of learning, her trajectory towards maturity. We have tried to understand Laura’s subjectivity in conjunction with other characters of the short story, as well as in relation to the meanings linked to spatial configuration. The results of the discussion reveal a convergence between character, setting and learning, through initiation.