“The Dinner Party” Short Story by Mona Gardner

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In “The Dinner Party,” Mona Gardner narrates about a table gathering of a colonial official, his wife, and their guests in India. During the evening, a colonel and a young girl become involved in the discussion about women’s reactions to surprising events. The host claims that “…while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of nerve control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what counts” (Gardner, 1941). Later, the American guest discovers there is a snake inside the room by the reaction of the face and actions of the colonel’s wife. After observing the servant boy putting a bowl of milk outside, a foreign guest proposes everyone to test their self-control by refraining from movement. On the cobra’s way out, women notice the snake and start screaming.

After the creature left the room, the host exclaimed that the colonel was right and showed a perfect example of self-control. However, the American guest asked the hostess one question, and everyone realized that women can also have strong character and stamina. Initially, the snake was creeping across the hostess’s foot! Gardner utilizes the colonel’s snobbish attitude and his wife’s quiet confidence in “The Dinner Party” to show how self-control varies depending on the person. Mona Gardner in her story raises the problem of gender discrimination and proves that humans vary with character features despite gender differences. Indeed, any person can develop strong characteristics if they work hard despite genetics, age, and ethnicity.

Reference

Gardner, M. (1941). The Dinner Party. The Saturday Review of Literature, 25(5), 1-2.

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