As the piano begins playing, Jose’s expression morphs instantaneously into an affected melancholy, and she bursts into song, entitled “This Life is Weary”:

Sheridan by also instructing the servants with various duties as she prepares to sing a song for the party later in the evening. Jose, one of Laura’s sisters, imitates Mrs. Sheridan jokes about herself being illogical: “My darling child, you wouldn’t like a logical mother, would you?” (4). Laura affectionately points out to her mother that she earlier said the children would organize the festivities, but Mrs. Sheridan’s previous statement about letting the children run the show, she is at the center of the party preparations, directing the florist’s delivery of a profusion of canna lilies and instructing the children to assist her in labeling the sandwiches. The party preparations are in full swing as the narrative follows Laura through her interactions with family, friends, and the house servants. Just then, she is called back into the house for a telephone call from her friend. She notes to herself how much nicer these workmen seem as opposed to the boys in her social circle, and she begins to ponder these “absurd class distinctions” (2) between herself and the workmen. One of the men bends down to pick a tiny sprig of lavender, daintily bringing it to his nose and inhaling the aroma. Laura wonders momentarily whether his slang is impolite, but she certainly understands his reasoning. One of the workmen tells Laura this is the best location because it is the most conspicuous and dramatic: “You see, with a thing like a marquee, you want to put it somewhere where it’ll give you a bang slap in the eye, if you follow me” (2). Reviewing the vast Sheridan property, the workmen decide that the marquee will be set up in front of the tropical karaka-trees. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind so much if the band was quite small” (2). One of the workmen, who looks tired, asks Laura about her family’s plans to have a band for their party: “‘Only a very small band,’ said Laura gently.

Sheridan does) or in her natural manner as a “little girl,” but she settles upon the former and instructs the workmen to find a suitable location for the marquee. In her interactions with the workmen, Laura is uncertain whether to behave more businesslike (like Mrs. Sheridan) says that the children, rather than the adults, will host the garden party this year as the first workmen arrive at the house to begin the preparations, the children decide amongst themselves that Laura, “the artistic one” (1), will direct the workmen. The story starts with a pleasant and positive tone as the reader learns that the Sheridan family will hold their annual garden party later that day. The story is told from a third-person perspective however, the narrator has particular insight into the thinking of the protagonist, Laura.

Glück by Katherine Mansfield