V. Explain what these expressions mean and reproduce the situations in which they are used.

1. Friends could disappear into the woodwork

2. … it was like probing a sore tooth

3. I can’t write it off, start again

4. Stick to him like a limpet

5. … perhaps she was an intellectual giant

6. … if you are over him why don’t you bow out?

7. … whether to worm my way back into Harry’s life

VI. Answer the following questions.

1. Give a character sketch of Helen. What kind of person was she?

2. What happened in Helen’s life? Why did she decide to move house?

3. How did her friends help her in that difficult situation?

4. What impressed Helen in Mrs. Kennedy?

5. What did the two women have in common? In what are they different?

6. How did Mrs. Kennedy manage to survive when her husband left her for another woman?

7. What advice did Mrs. Kennedy give Helen?

8. What are the topic and the main idea of the story?

VII. Discussion.

1. Revenge is always thought of as a negative, destructive force. “No revenge is more honourable than the one not taken, ” a Spanish proverb says. Do you think Debbie’s revenge can be seen like that? List the positive and negative features of all the things Debbie did, initially as acts of revenge.

2. Debbie was also deserted by her husband. What similarities were there between her situation and Helen’s? Do you think Helen is likely to attempt a similar revenge? Would that, in your opinion, be a good idea? Why, or why not?

3. Describe the two routes that Debbie offers to Helen as ways forward out of her situation. What other courses of action might deserted wives take? Do husbands deserted by their wives react in the same way? Do you think people generally have the same attitude towards an unfaithful wife as they do towards an unfaithful husband?

4. Is The Garden Party a good title for this story, do you think? Is it appropriate, and if so, in what way? What other suitable titles could you suggest?

5. Retell the text in 20 sentences as if you were Helen/Mrs. Kennedy. What are these sentences? Why have you chosen them?

WRITING ACTIVITIES

VIII. Helen decided to follow Debbie’s suggestion to hold a gardening party. What other positive actions could she take to begin to rebuild her life? Write a paragraph (70-90 words) of advice for her.

IX. Imagine that you are one of Helen’s sisters, writing one of the letters about the new house that Helen read with “mute rage”. Use the information in the story to write the letter, full of hearty and insincere enthusiasm for the “consolation” of gardening.

X. Mr. Kennedy’s second wife shows some irritation at her daughter’s readiness to visit Debbie again the following day. Imagine that you are the girls’ mother and write your diary entry for that day, describing how you feel about Debbie Kennedy and the girls’ attitude towards her.