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Hans
Occasionally capitalized but usually referenced in lowercase, the Sheridans’ cook has a much more forceful presence than the other servants. On the morning of the garden-party, Mrs. Sheridan insists she is “terrified” of cook and sends Jose to “pacify” her; later, even though it seems improper to the children, cook gives Jose and Laura cream puffs just after breakfast. Later, cook is the one who first tells Laura about Scott’s death (although she lets Godber’s man finish the story). Cook’s unassuming warmth and Mrs. Sheridan’s authoritarian directives offer competing maternal presences in the Sheridan household. Nevertheless, the fact that the Sheridans refer to cook by her job title rather than her actual name emphasizes the social hierarchy in the Sheridan household and the family’s general disregard for the humanity of working-class characters.
Cook Quotes in The Garden Party
The The Garden Party quotes below are all either spoken by Cook or refer to Cook. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Garden Party
Quotes
Godber's man wasn't going to have his story snatched from under his very nose.
"Know those little cottages just below here, miss?" Know them? Of course, she knew them. “Well, there's a young chap living there, name of Scott, a carter. His horse shied at a traction-engine, corner of Hawke Street this morning, and he was thrown out on the back of his head. Killed.”
“Dead!” Laura stared at Godber's man.
“Dead when they picked him up," said Godber's man with relish. "They were taking the body home as I come up here." And he said to the cook, "He's left a wife and five little ones.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Cook Character Timeline in The Garden Party
The timeline below shows where the character Cook appears in The Garden Party. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Garden Party
Sadie interrupts to tell Mrs. Sheridan that the cook needs the “flags for the sandwiches.” Mrs. Sheridan says she will “let her have them...
(full context)
Laura brings the sandwich flags to the kitchen where Jose “congratulate[s]” the cook on the fifteen different kinds of sandwiches she has made. The cook simply smiles. From...
(full context)
...way outside, Laura encounters Godber’s man excitedly telling a story to Sadie, Hans, and the cook, who look horrified. Godber’s man tells Laura “with relish” that Scott, a cart-driver who lives...
(full context)
