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In Katherine Mansfield's well-known short story The Garden Party, the protagonist, Laura, wants to cancel the garden party after hearing that a carter has died in an accident. Her mother and sisters disagree, so the garden party takes place as planned. After the party, Laura's mother comes up with the idea of sending the leftovers to the carter's widow and children. She packs the leftovers in a basket and sends Laura to deliver them. When Laura is about to leave, her mother warns her against something:

"Only the basket, then. And, Laura!"—her mother followed her out of the marquee— "don't on any account—"
"What mother?"
No, better not put such ideas into the child's head! "Nothing! Run along."

What exactly is it that Laura is not supposed to do? Is it a warning against entering the carter's house (which is what Laura eventually does)? Or is it about something else that I'm overlooking?

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Laura's mother is on the point of warning Laura not to go into the house and view the body.

The story is about the loss of innocence. The garden, with its perfect lawn and perfect roses being prepared for the perfect party with the perfect food, suggests Eden. Death intrudes on this Eden with the news of the carter. In her innocence, Laura cannot imagine the party's going on in the face of the carter's death. She is bewildered by her family's dismissal of her pleas to cancel the party. She gives up her resistance only after catching sight of herself in a mirror and noticing how attractive she looks in her party clothes—an inverted allusion to Adam and Eve's seeing their nakedness after eating the forbidden fruit. By seeing the carter's body, Laura understands at last that matters like garden parties are superficial:

There lay a young man, fast asleep — sleeping so soundly, so deeply, that he was far, far away from them both. Oh, so remote, so peaceful. He was dreaming. Never wake him up again. His head was sunk in the pillow, his eyes were closed; they were blind under the closed eyelids. He was given up to his dream. What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all those things. He was wonderful, beautiful. While they were laughing and while the band was playing, this marvel had come to the lane. Happy ... happy ... All is well, said that sleeping face. This is just as it should be. I am content.

Initially, Laura thinks that the garden party would be an affront to the dead man; by seeing the corpse, she realizes that such trivialities don't matter in the face of death. Understanding death, she understands life:

She stopped, she looked at her brother. "Isn't life," she stammered, "isn't life—" But what life was she couldn't explain. No matter. He quite understood.

"Isn't it, darling?" said Laurie.

Laura's mother thinks that Laura, in her childlike innocence, will not be able to deal with the sight of the dead body. Or perhaps she wants to preserve Laura's innocence, her lack of a grown-up understanding of death for longer. However, Laura shows herself to be more mature than her mother imagines.

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    "The story is about the loss of innocence." "Innocence" sounds a bit vague and there is more going on than just that (class differences). In addition to the contrast between Eden and the lane with the worker's houses, there is also an element of a descent into the underworld (the broad road she crosses represents the Styx, the dog Cerberus, and of course she does see death).
    – Tsundoku
    Commented Jul 14 at 0:49
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    "the broad road she crosses represents the Styx, the dog Cerberus". That seems rather far-fetched to me, but by all means put that in your self-answer!
    – verbose
    Commented Jul 14 at 0:57
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    Some allusion to Persephone?
    – Laska
    Commented Jul 14 at 4:10

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