Reflecting on the Dead Essay -- essays research papers fc

Reflecting on the DeadIn Katherine Mansfields The garden Party and in D.H. Lawrences smell of Chrysanthemums, two women were in a situation where finale was literally at their feet. In The Garden Party, Laura finds herself contemplating the cold body of Mr. Scott, a man of lower class who lived at the shag of the hill from her house. In Odour of Chrysanthemums, Elizabeth finds herself contemplating the inanimate body of her husband, Walter. Although the relationships these women shared with the unfounded men were completely opposite, they both had striking similarities in the ways that they handled the situation. both(prenominal) women ignored the feelings of the families of the deceased, failed to refer to the deceased by name, felt shame in the presence of the deceased and both had a life and death epiphany. Although Laura and Elizabeth were in two similar yet very different situations, they both had contemplated the dead men, acted in similar ways, felt similar emotions an d both ended up having an epiphany regarding life and death at the end of the story.No real look up was shown in either story for family members of the dead. In fact the only mention shown by Laura and Elizabeth was only c at a timern for themselves. In The Garden Party, Laura did not once show any consideration for Mr. Scotts family. Even in the presence of the widow and her sister, Laura never mentioned anything about feeling sorry for them about their mischief. The near charge shown for Mr. Scotts family was before a party that her family was throwing when she questioned, what the band would sizable like to that poor woman (Mansfield 2429). Laura also never showed concern for Mr. Scotts children. Her reference to Mr. Scotts wife and children as the poor woman and those tiny children (Mansfield 2430), was the only beneficence the widow and her family received from her. Laura commandmed only concerned with how rottenly nervous she was and that she was being watched with s taring eyes (Mansfield 2432). She didnt even tell apart that Mr. Scott had a family that was suffering. Elizabeth, in Odour of Chrysanthemums, lacked the same condolence. Unlike Laura, this was her own family she lacked sympathy for. She never expressed any responsibilty about how her children were going to handle the loss of their father. At the end of the story is the only time Elizabeth expressed concern for her children ... ..., but Laura saw a beauty in death which helped her to see the beauty of life. Elizabeth realized the frightening possibility that life was just an straightaway placement and that her reality resided in death.Even though Laura and Elizabeth were uncompassionate towards the families, failed to handle the deceased by their names, felt shame and had a life and death epiphany, both women had different stances and reasons concerning their actions. The relationship and the personal or social variance that Laura and Elizabeth shared with the dead men were all factors in how they acted, reacted and lastly how these alter the epiphany that the two women experienced throughout and at the end of these stories.Works CitedLawrence, D.H. The Odour of Chrysanthemums. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York W.W. Norton & Company. 2000. 2316-2330.Mansfield, Katherine. The Garden Party.The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York W.W. Norton & Company. 2000.2423-2433.