“The budding rose above the full-fledged rose,” writes William Henryworth, elevating the process of emergence, change, and evolution compared to those already developed, established and matured. Even though Worthworth's remark concerns a rose, the statement also accurately describes Katherine Mansfield's protagonist in The Garden Party. The story focuses on a wealthy New Zealand family jaded by an elite lifestyle and high social status. The youngest daughter, Laura, "the budding rose" of the story, seeks to break the constraints of upper-class society, making her both more mature and more compassionate than the other members of her wealthy family. Laura's internal struggle, the main conflict of Mansfield's story is one of identity, and she oscillates between imitating environmental influences and reacting to them in a way that is unique to her personality individual. Throughout the story, the pendulum of his consciousness swings from side to side, making his actions inconsistent and without allegiance to either the exclusive habits of his family or his inherent qualities of equality and empathy. . This variable behavior leads critics to argue about Laura's "real" personality, motivations, and goals. While some critics feel that her efforts at sympathy are an attempt to rebel against the expectations of her class, others feel that she is an empathetic person without a supportive family. Another group of critics believe that the story only presents Laura's initiation into kindness, suggesting that she will continue to blossom into a compassionate person on the outskirts of upper-class society; others refute this view, asserting that The Garden Party depicts the extent of the d...... middle of paper...... Daly, Saralyn R. "Katherine Mansfield" New York: Twayne Publishers; 1914. Kleine, Don W. "'The Garden Party': A Portrait of the Artist", Criticism, Vol. V No. 4 Fall, 1963, pp.360-371. Kobbler, JF "Katherine Mansfield. A study in short fiction". Twayne Publishers. Boston: 1991Mansfield, Katherine. "The Garden Party. Norton Anthology Ed. MH Abrams WW Norton & Company: New York, London, 1996, 1996 pp. 2510-2520Pilditch, January. "Reference Guide to Short Fiction, 1st Edition.", St. James Press , 1994. Rich, Jennifer. "'The Garden Party' and Other Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield, Ben "The Irony in 'The Garden Party'." . 68-74.Sorkin, Adam J. “Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party”: Style and Social Occasion” Modern Fiction Studies Vol 24, 1978, pp...439-455.