payment page
Mansfield based Laura and the Sheridan household loosely on herself and her own family. Since Mansfield would have been a teen in the 1900s, it is safe to infer the story’s time setting to be the 1900s. It is a pleasant early summer day. There is no wind, it’s warm, and the sky is clear.
The story’s setting has two main locations, the Sheridan family’s large upper-class house and gardens at the top of a hill and the Scott family’s small lower-class cottage at the bottom of the hill.
Mansfield’s family home in the affluent Wellington suburb of Thorndon likely inspired the Sheridans’ house. The story begins in the garden, which Americans would call the yard. It is bursting with daisies and hundreds of ostentatious rose plants. The garden is large enough to fit a tennis court, a small band, and a large tent for the party. The house boasts a generous size, featuring both an attached veranda and a porch. It spans two stories, encompassing a smoking room, a formal dining room, and a drawing room with a piano. Laura enjoys the luxury of her own bedroom. The chimneys emit smoke in "great silvery plumes," adding a touch of elegance to the scene. Beyond the Sheridan gate, the road "gleams white," enhancing the overall picturesque ambiance.
The Scotts' lower-class section of the neighborhood starkly contrasts with the Sheridans’. The Sheridans feel it is far too close to their property and is frankly an eyesore. It consists of little brown cottages that are in “deep shade,” and their gardens are filled with “cabbage stalks, sick hens, and tomato cans.” Even the smoke from the chimneys is described as "poverty-stricken," emerging in thin strands. People loiter, and children play in doorways. The Scott’s house is gloomy with “a wretched little low kitchen, lighted by a smoky lamp.” The widow sits by a fire in the kitchen. Mr. Scott’s corpse lies in the only bedroom.
