n they came in" (467). The colonel fights with his family, orders the daughters around as if he was in the military, and wields a harsh stick. The daughters are therefore trapped in this world of fear where neither "could possibly believe that father was never coming back" (467). Having given over all the decision-making to others, when death comes they cannot face the reality of the world around them, but instead ask: "What should we live on . . .?" (479).
In contrast, Mansfield's The Garden Party depicts death as foreign and outside the "important" events of a child's garden party. Decisions in The Garden Party replace the inaction and hesitation tha
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