The Garden Party

by

Katherine Mansfield

Meg Sheridan Character Analysis

Another of Laura’s siblings, Meg is a relatively minor character and does not speak in the story. Like the rest of her family, Meg is depicted as living a leisurely life: she drinks coffee with her hair wrapped in a green towel, which makes her too busy to supervise the workmen, and she later plays the piano while Jose sings.

Meg Sheridan Quotes in The Garden Party

The The Garden Party quotes below are all either spoken by Meg Sheridan or refer to Meg Sheridan. 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:
Work and Leisure Theme Icon
).
The Garden Party Quotes

“My dear child, it's no use asking me. I'm determined to leave everything to you children this year. Forget I am your mother. Treat me as an honoured guest.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Sheridan (speaker), Laura Sheridan , Meg Sheridan
Related Symbols: Marquee
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:

“This Life is Wee-ary,
A Tear—a Sigh.
A Love that Chan-ges,
This Life is Wee-ary,
A Tear—a Sigh.
A Love that Chan-ges,
And then... Good-bye!”

But at the word "Good-bye," and although the piano sounded more desperate than ever, her face broke into a brilliant, dreadfully unsympathetic smile.

"Aren't I in good voice, mummy?" she beamed.

“This Life is Wee-ary,
Hope comes to Die.
A Dream—a Wa-kening.”

Related Characters: Jose Sheridan (speaker), Laura Sheridan , Mrs. Sheridan, Meg Sheridan, Hans, Sadie
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 42-43
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Garden Party LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Garden Party PDF

Meg Sheridan Character Timeline in The Garden Party

The timeline below shows where the character Meg Sheridan appears in The Garden Party. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Garden Party
Work and Leisure Theme Icon
Beauty, Refinement and Detachment Theme Icon
Childhood, Family and Independence Theme Icon
...later that day. As Mrs. Sheridan eats breakfast with at least two of her daughters, Meg and Laura, four workmen come to assemble the marquee (a large outdoor tent). Mrs. Sheridan... (full context)
Work and Leisure Theme Icon
Empathy, Understanding, and Class Consciousness Theme Icon
Beauty, Refinement and Detachment Theme Icon
Childhood, Family and Independence Theme Icon
The scene jumps to the drawing-room, where Hans, a servant, and Meg and Jose, two of the other Sheridan daughters, have finished moving the piano. Jose tells... (full context)
Work and Leisure Theme Icon
Empathy, Understanding, and Class Consciousness Theme Icon
Childhood, Family and Independence Theme Icon
...but the children can tell that their mother doesn’t have them yet. Mrs. Sheridan tells Meg and Jose to finish getting dressed and tells Laura to write the names on the... (full context)