The Garden Party

The hat symbolizes class distinction. As Mrs. Sheridan advises her daughter for the future, she adorns Laura with a lavish hat with a velvet ribbon ornamented with daisies. This gesture is a reminder of her class as well as her life inside the Sheridan gates; indeed, the hat is the antithesis to the reality of Mr. Scott’s death. Though Laura decides to tell Laurie about the man’s death, she falters after he compliments her hat. The party guests, too, compliment the hat. However, while the hat may bring feelings of joy and beauty at the party, this doesn’t translate beyond the gates; Laura becomes self-conscious of her appearance, particularly the hat, on her walk to the widow’s house. In her moments at the wake, the only words she can say to the deceased is an apology for wearing the hat. The hat now changes from a symbol of beauty and adoration (as within the gates of the Sheridan home) to a burden that draws painful attention to class distinction and is inappropriate to the sober occasion.