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SJMGU 2019, University of Magway

Colour Symbolism used in the Short Story The Garden Party

by Katherine Mansfield
Wah Wah Myint1, Than Than Cho2 and Cho Mar Yi Lin3
Abstract
In a literary work, the use of colours as symbols contributes to the imagery of the written word
and enables the students to visualize details about certain aspects of the character’s personality
and how he/ she interacts with others in their surroundings. The aim of this paper is to
investigate colour symbolism used in the short story The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.
The objectives of the study are to find out symbols of colours used in Katherine Mansfield’s
The Garden Party and to explore the most symbolic representations of different colours in the
short story. To be analysed the material, the theory of “Color Symbolism in Literature: What
Do Colors Mean in Literature and Poetry?” by Jacob Olesen (2004) is chosen. The most
prominent colours that can be found throughout the short story are green, blue, black and pink.
By learning the colour symbolism, the students will have a better understanding of characters,
places, events, and ideas as well as will get a new thinking process.
Key Words: colour, symbol, thinking process
Introduction
Literary texts are products that reflect different aspects of society. Esther Lombardi
(2019) stated that students who study literature and read for pleasure have a higher vocabulary,
better reading comprehension, and better communication skills, such as writing ability.
Beyond these basic benefits is the development of critical thinking and analysis skills through
the study of literature. When students analyze literature, they learn to identify cause and effect
by applying critical thinking skills. They identify the characters’ motivations for their actions
and see through those actions to any hidden motives. The use of symbolism in literature can
also enhance writing and add meaning to a story.
According to Jacob Olesen (2004), “colours have been used in stories since as early as
the first story was told. Writers and poets use colours to create concrete images of their
characters, scenes and events. Language itself uses a system of symbols, either verbal or
written. Therefore, colour symbolism in literature imparts a deeper meaning to the words
which, in turn, help transform the written content into a more powerful instrument. Naturally,
the reader must also have prior experience with the color in order to interpret the symbolism
(that the creator has in mind) correctly. This is the main reason why poems and books mean
different things to different readers. Although this is the case, writers and poets have the poetic
license to use different colours in a manner that create different meanings in their work.”
Colours used in the story play an important effect in shaping the characters, developing the
plot, and deepening the theme of the story. The present study examined what sorts of colours
were used as a symbol to help readers get a better understanding of characters, places, events,
and ideas in the short story The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.
Mansfield’s short stories include numerous visual images, which give significantly to
the stories’ moods and themes. The story The Garden Party is about a wealthy family holding
a garden party and the death of their neighbor who is not wealthy. In this story, Mansfield’s
visual imagery has been linked with literary devices such as symbolism and irony. As a result,
she successfully merged verbal and visual languages to promote a greater sensitivity to her
characters’ perceptions and feelings. Mansfield’s ability creatively imitates reality as painters

1
Lecturer, Department of English, University of Magway
2
Lecturer, Department of English, University of Magway
3
Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, University of Magway
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do. To be analysed the collected data, the theory of “Color Symbolism in Literature: What Do
Colors Mean in Literature and Poetry?” by Jacob Olesen (2004) is chosen.
The aim of the study is to investigate colour symbolism used in the short story The
Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. The objectives are to find out symbols of colours used
in Katherine Mansfield’s The Garden Party and to explore the most symbolic representations
of different colours in the short story.
Literature Review
The present study is related to color symbolism in the story. Thus, definition of
symbolism, theory of colour symbolism, biography of the author, synosip of the story and
related research are described.
Definition of Symbolism
According to the Oxford dictionary, symbolism means the practice of representing
things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects,
events, or relationships. “Symbol is a way of using something integral to the work to reach
beyond the work and engage the world of value outside the work. (Wang, 2011) As an artistic
theory, symbolism gets the name from a unique writing technique - symbol. The term
“symbol” comes from the Greek word “Symbolon”, which refers to a token that showing
friendly affection between two people by putting the previous divided board together when
they meet again. Symbol is different from metaphor. It contains more profound and deep
meaning than metaphor because it reflects the intrinsic nature of reality. And it develops
quickly from a simple writing technique into the abstract symbolism through intellectuals’
efforts. Symbolism emphasizes the expression of subjective spirit and personal inner world. It
does not adopt the direct description, but chooses the specific images and symbols to imply the
subtle and mysterious inner spiritual world and let the reader re-create the emotions and ideas
by using the unexplained symbols. Finding the corresponding relationship between the outer
things and the inner world through images makes symbolism own the mysterious character.
Color Symbolism in Literature: What Do Colors Mean in Literature and Poetry?
By Jacob Olesen
Colors have been used in stories since as early as the first story was told. Writers and
poets use colors to create concrete images of their characters, scenes and events. Language
itself uses a system of symbols, either verbal or written. Therefore, color symbolism in
literature imparts a deeper meaning to the words which, in turn, help transform the written
content into a more powerful instrument. Naturally, the reader must also have prior experience
with the color in order to interpret the symbolism (that the creator has in mind) correctly. This
is the main reason why poems and books mean different things to different readers. Although
this is the case, writers and poets have the poetic license to use different colors in a manner
that create different meanings in their work.
Let us study different colors and what they mean in different forms of literature across
the world.
Color symbolism in French literature: As early as the 12th century, French writers and
poets used only 7 colors to depict romance, characters and emotions. These were: White, Red,
Yellow, Blue, Green Black and Brown.
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Color symbolism in fairy tales: The best places in literature to study color symbolism
are the Fairy tales which used colors richly: examples include: As red as blood, as white as
snow, as black as the crow etc-all of which evoke emotional responses and help develop a
connection to the story.
The tale of Snow White is one of the best examples that depicts color symbolism: it
uses Red, White and Black dominantly where White represents Heaven, Red represents
spilling of blood and an enticing-yet-poisoned apple while Black shows regeneration as well
as sexual desire.
Color symbolism in Gothic literature: Gothic Literature is known for its use of Red and Black
as the symbolism associated with these colors really draw the readers in to evoke an emotional
response while creating an atmosphere.
Red color meaning in Gothic literature: According to a study published in 2004 by psychology
majors in Alabama, red is a very dominant color which can have an exciting and stimulating
effect. Based on circumstances, Gothic writers use it for drawing both positive and negative
emotions. These include, typically, passion and warmth and aggression or intensity. Red is
also the color of fire and blood and can symbolize energy, war, danger, strength,
determination, passion, as well as love. Red is known to trigger and enhance appetite and
metabolism, raise the rate of respiration and also increase blood pressure. It has high visibility
and is used to symbolize danger.
Black color meaning in Gothic literature: Black, on the other hand, is used in Gothic literature
to symbolize evil, death, power, formality, elegance, mystery and fear. Black also has negative
connotations especially in poetry, and when combined with red or orange can create a highly
aggressive color scheme.
With these emotions attached to red and black, Gothic literature uses these as staple colors for
literary needs.
Symbolism of green color in literature and poems: As per the 2004 color study, green in
literature and poems is used for symbolizing both a ‘riveting’ and ‘relaxing’ effect. Green
represents feelings of refreshment but is also associated with ‘tiredness and guilt’. Green (in
poetry) is used for representing nature, harmony, freshness, fertility and also ambition, greed
and jealousy.
Symbolism of the color yellow in literature: Yellow is associated with joy, happiness, intellect
and energy. It is a stimulating color that represents honor, loyalty, and stimulates mental
activity. It is also an unstable color associated with cowardice and mental illness. Avoid using
this color if you want to portray stability and safety in your work.
Symbolism of blue color in literature: Blue color in literature is mainly used to draw a positive
emotional response and is typically associated with the feeling of calmness, peace, happiness,
relaxation, comfort. On the negative side, it may be used to represent depression, sadness and
gloominess. According to the color theory, writers and poets use Blue to depict trust, loyalty,
wisdom, faith, confidence, truth and heaven.
Symbolism of the color pink: Pink, which is a shade of red, is used in literature to denote
romance, love, friendship, possessiveness as well as feminine or girly qualities.
Symbolism of the color Silver: Silver is used for mental, physical and emotional harmony,
gentle, kind and sensitive hope wealth and riches
Other colors in literature
 White-Innocence, virginity, purity
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 Purple-Royalty, wealth
 Orange-Fiery or lust
 Aqua-Coolness, water
 Brown-Poverty, earth
 Gold- happiness, success, high quality, wealth
And finally, there are a few examples of color symbolism in poems and literature.
1. The devil with its fiery eyes emerged from the dark pit, its evil eyes and terrifying red
horns enough to scare the living lights of the viewer. Naturally, you must have
imagined a black devil with red horns and tongue, since red and black are often used to
portray evil and negative characters.
2. I lay upon the crisp green grass and watched the white wispy clouds as they floated
across the serene blue skies. This scene must have naturally brought images of
summer, a beautiful meadow or grassy yard, and you were also probably left with a
feeling of tranquility and peace.
As is evident, color symbolism in literature does not just serve as character information but
is also a way of informing a reader about a scene without going into too many details. With
basic understanding of what a color represents, a reader can even create a stronger bond with
the characters for a richer reading experience.
Synopsis of the story
Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” is about Laura, a teenaged daughter of the
wealthy New Zealand Sheridan family who prepares to host a garden party. Laura is charged
with instructing the workers on the placement of the marquee. Her haughty air quickly
disintegrates into an intimidating admiration for the workingmen, with whom she feels a
personal connection. Laura's mother, Mrs Sheridan, has ordered masses of lilies, to both their
delight. Laura's sister Jose tests the piano, and then sings a song in case she is asked to do so
again later. After the furniture is rearranged, the Sheridans learn that their working-class
neighbour Mr Scott has died. While Laura believes the party should be called off, neither Jose
nor their mother agrees. Laura eases her conscience by deciding to forget the matter until the
party is over. When the evening comes, Mrs Sheridan tells Laura to bring a basket full of
leftovers to the Scotts' house to expose her to the world beyond their estate. Laura is led into
the poor neighbours' house by Mrs Scott's sister, sees the pitiable figure of the widow, and is
led to the late husband's corpse. Laura is intrigued by the sublimity of the corpse's face, and
she finds death just as beautiful as life. Having left the house, Laura meets her brother Laurie
in an alleyway. She finds herself unable to explain life and death concisely, and Laurie
understands that his sister has come to realize her own mortality.
Biography of the author
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 14 October
1888, but was famous for the short stories penned under the pseudonym Katherine Mansfield.
She is New Zealand’s most internationally famous author. She was a writer of short stories,
poetry, letters, journals and reviews, and changed the way the short story was written in the
English language. Her life spanned a time when gender roles for women underwent a radical
change. Katherine Mansfield was among an emerging female professional class and saw
herself as a writer first, a woman second. Despite her deteriorating health, she produced two
highly-praised short story collections, The Garden Party and Bliss, during her short life.
Katherine spent the last years of her life travelling around Europe with Ida, which further
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damaged her health. Despite this, Katherine continued to write at a prolific pace with The Fly
being her last finished work in 1922. After living with two debilitating illnesses, she died in
France at the age of 34 from tuberculosis. Her writing is part of the Modernist tradition and is
characterised by its economical use of language, symbolism and sharp psychological insight.
Related Research
The first related research of the present study is “Kaleidoscope in Jazz Age: On
Symbolic Meanings of Colors in The Great Gatsby” by SUN Xiao-fang (2017) in Shenzhen
Polytechnic, Shenzhen, China. The aim of this research is to explore the symbolic meanings of
colors in the novel, suggesting that the color imagery contributed to reproducing the
kaleidoscope in the magnificent social life of Jazz Age and implied the inevitable
disillusionment of the protagonist’s American dream that was defined as his pursuit of
romantic love with Daisy, further intertwined with the search for a personal grail. The research
found green, color of hope; white, color of purity; blue, color of romance; yellow, silver, brass,
colors of material; gray, color of decay; red, color of brutality. The result showed that all these
colors are applied and mixed to paint a prosperous picture of the American society and the
“characters are more than the sum of their own experiences: they constitute America itself as it
moves into the Jazz Age” (Berman 2001, p. 54). The second one is “It's all about color: an
analysis of color symbolism in Toni Morrison's Sula and the bluest eye” by Veda Kimber
Jackson (2011) at Clark Atlanta University. This study examines Toni Morrison’s use of
symbolism in Sula and The Bluest eyes especially archetypal and color symbolism, in an effort
to recover the culture that has been lost to Diasporic Africans. The result stated that Morrison
limits her use of color symbolism to either Western or African interpretations, but instead,
interchangeably incorporates them both throughout her works.
Materials & Methods
Content analysis was used for investigating colour symbolism in the story The Garden
Party by Katherine Mansfield. According to the classification of colour symbolism, the story
is thoroughly read and colours in sentences is carefully identified. And then the collected data
are interpreted. The analysis was qualitative as the symbolic meanings of colour words in the
selected story were studied. To analyse the collected data, the theory of Jacob Olesen (2004)
was used. This study will attempt to provide a focus on colour symbolism that has not been
explored in other literary reviews.
Data Collection
Data in the story were analysed in the whole and the meanings of each colours which
gave the readers a great insight into the characters and their lives were studied. In this section,
the collection of the data and their symbolic meanings will be presented in tabular forms.
Table (1): Blue colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
Only the blue was veiled with a
1 4 haze of light gold, as it is calmness and peace
sometimes in early summer.
His smile was so easy, so friendly,
that Laura recovered. What nice
2 29 a positive emotional response
eyes he had, small, but such a dark
blue!
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Table (2): Silver colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
And there were two tiny spots of mental, physical and emotional
sun, one on the inkpot, one on a harmony
1 124
silver photograph frame, playing
too.
Especially the one on the inkpot lid. gentle, kind and sensitive hope
2 128 It was quite warm. A warm little
silver star.
Little rags and shreds of smoke, so wealth and riches
unlike the great silvery plumes that
3 290
uncurled from the Sheridans'
chimneys.

Table (3): Green colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
Hundreds, yes, literally hundreds,
had come out in a single night; the a ‘riveting’ effect in the fresh
1 7
green bushes bowed down as though environment
they had been visited by archangels.
She had washed her hair before
breakfast, and she sat drinking her feelings of refreshment and
2 14
coffee in a green turban, with a dark relaxation
wet curl stamped on each cheek.
The green baize door that led to the
harmony of colour in the
3 118 kitchen regions swung open and shut
environment
with a muffled thud.
The green-coated band had arrived
4 361 and was established in a corner of heart and emotions in balance
the tennis-court.

Table (4): Pink colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
There, just inside the door, stood a
1 137 wide, shallow tray full of pots of lovely and romance
pink lilies.
No other kind. Nothing but lilies–
canna lilies, big pink flowers, wide loving and uncomplicated
2 139
open, radiant, almost frighteningly emotions
alive on bright crimson stems.
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Table (5): Yellow colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
And they were so lovely, with
1 60 their broad, gleaming leaves, and mental activity and energy
their clusters of yellow fruit.

Table (6): White colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
Yes, isn't it a perfect morning? Your
1 101 innocence and pure beauty
white?
The road gleamed white, and down
2 456 below in the hollow the little harmony of silence
cottages were in deep shade.

Table (7): Black colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
There, quite by chance, the first thing
she saw was this charming girl in the
protection against emotional
1 350 mirror, in her black hat trimmed with
stress
gold daisies, and a long black velvet
ribbon.
A little woman in black showed in
2 496 depressing and loneliness
the gloom.

Table (8): Brown colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
They were little mean dwellings
1 248 poverty
painted a chocolate brown.

Table (9): Gold colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
Only the blue was veiled with a haze
1 4 of light gold, as it is sometimes in happiness
early summer.
There, quite by chance, the first
thing she saw was this charming girl
2 301 in the mirror, in her black hat wealth
trimmed with gold daisies, and a
long black velvet ribbon.
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Table (10): Red colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
Her face, puffed up, red, with
1 515 swollen eyes and swollen lips, violence
looked terrible.

Table (11): Crimson colour used in the Short Story “The Garden Party”
Sr Sentence
Sources Meanings
No No
No other kind. Nothing but lilies–
canna lilies, big pink flowers, wide
2 139 power, happiness and celebration
open, radiant, almost frighteningly
alive on bright crimson stems.

Data concerning with colour symbolism were collected and showed in tabular form.
Throughout The Garden Party, Katherine Mansfield used black, green, yellows, blues and so
on for atmospheric as well as visual effect.
Findings and Discussion
This section discusses cloours collected from the selected story through the use of
‘Colour symbolism in literature” by Jacob Olesen (2004). Although there are altogether eleven
colours used in the story, some symbolic meanings are discussed due to
Blue colour in literature is mainly used to draw a positive emotional response and is
typically associated with the feeling of calmness, peace, happiness, relaxation and comfort.
The opening scenes all suggest a wealthy, normal, and happy family. The colour ‘blue’ in the
sentence “Only the blue was veiled with a haze of light gold, as it is sometimes in early
summer” represents the cloudless peaceful summer day which is perfect for the garden party at
the home of the well-to-do Sheridan family. All the surroundings are very calm and pleasant
enough to throw the garden party.
The colour ‘silver’ of tiny spots of sun is clearly associated with the romantic hope.
Laura is more commonly associated with silver. It is a powerful colour which can bring about
mental, physical and emotional harmony. Laura appears to be about sixteen, a young woman
on the edge of adulthood. Not only do readers hear her talk, they listen in on her thoughts.
Readers sense her joy at being alive when she reacts ecstatically to the spots of light the sun
makes on an inkpot. Mansfield brings the reader close to Laura in another typical way. Even
the opening description of the day and the flowers seems to be in a character’s mind, not the
storyteller’s. To many readers, that mind soon becomes Laura’s.
The colour ‘black’ associates with Laura’s attempt to protection against her real
emotional stress. The hat is ‘black’ suggesting death; however, ‘gold’ daisies are indicative of
the Sheridans’ privileged life style, artificial values and their wealth. This combination of
different inferable meanings is the key to an understanding of Laura’s psychology because,
subsequent to her confrontation with the reflected image of her face under the decorative hat
filled with contrasting expressions, Laura may be between thinking about death and the
luxuries she belongs to.
Mansfield indicates a positive meaning to ‘white’, which represents innocence and
pure beauty of Kitty, a friend of Laura. The color ‘white’ also offers silence. The Sheridans'
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estate sits silently atop a hill above a cluster of sad little cottages, placing the family both
literally and figuratively above their poor neighbors.
‘Green’ represents feelings of refreshment and harmony of colour in the environment
in Literature and poems. In The Garden party, green colour closely related to the environment.
Katherine Manfields’ used “green bushes bowed down ….” to express the setting in the first
paragraph. Moreover, the authoress used “in green turban, green baize door and green coated
band” in her story. Here, she simply stated the Sheridan family’s environment to draw the
readers’ attention to the comfortable circumstances of The Sheridans: spacious garden, lily
lawn and green baize door.
Yellow represents mental activity and energy. In The Garden Party, the Sheridan
family members, who have no doubt about their inherent superiority to their workers and
servants; they feels perfectly comfortable ordering working-class people around and cares
little about their experiences. Brown represents poverty. Here, Mansfield used the colour
brown symbolized as the ordinary life of workmen.
Colours to make readers get an insight into the different characters’ lives. Naturally, to
fully measure these colours mentioned, readers must also first understand the situations within
which they are used. In The Garden Party, she uses black, green, yellows, blues throughout
her work for atmospheric as well as visual effect.
Conclusion
It is said that good writing is using the right words in the right place. Katherine
Mansfield has a prominent style and she mostly uses colours to make the pictures clear. These
colours give the readers a great insight into the characters and their lives. Each case does not
have to be symbolic when a colour word is applied, but the majority of them are. Mansfield’s
colour symbolism was studied to carry out a thorough analysis. Her artistic employment of
color symbolism helps to a colorful and violent world of the Sheridan family more vividly,
which greatly deepens the moral loaded in the work.

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