Question

the dinner party by mona gardner the country is india. a colonial official and his wife are giving a large dinner party. they are seated with their guests—army officers and government attachés and their wives, and a visiting american naturalist—in their spacious dining room, which has a bare marble floor, open rafters and wide glass doors opening onto a veranda. a spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who insists that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a colonel who says that they haven’t. “a woman’s unfailing reaction in any crisis,” the colonel says, “is to scream. and 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.” the american does not join in the argument but watches the other guests. as he looks, he sees a strange expression come over the face of the hostess. she is staring straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. with a slight gesture she summons the native boy standing behind her chair and whispers to him. the boy’s eyes widen, he quickly leaves the room. of the guests, none except the american notices this or sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors. the american comes to with a start. in india, milk in a bowl means only one thing—bait for a snake. he realizes there must be a cobra in the room. he looks up at the rafters—the likeliest place—but they are bare. three corners of the room are empty, and in the fourth the servants are waiting to serve the next course. there is only one place left—under the table. his first impulse is to jump back and warn the others, but he knows the commotion would frighten the cobra into striking. he speaks quickly, the tone of his voice so arresting that it sobers everyone. during the time this story takes place, india was a british colony. the colonial official works for the british government in india. the government attaches work for another country’s embassy in india. finally, a naturalist is someone who studies animals and plants. the dinner party by mona gardner from the saturday review of literature, vol. 25, no. 5, january 31, 1941. copyright © 1941 by general media communications, inc. reprinted by permission of the saturday review.

Explanation:

Theme:

The story challenges the stereotype that men have greater nerve control than women. The hostess demonstrates calm, unflappable self-control during the cobra crisis, while the colonel's earlier claim about male superiority is disproven, showing that courage and composure are not tied to gender.

Setting - Time:

The text notes India was a British colony during the story, and the original publication was 1941, placing the story in the pre-1947 British colonial era of India.

Setting - Place:

The story explicitly states the country is India, at a colonial official's spacious dining room with an attached veranda.

Answer:

Theme:

Courage and nerve control are not dependent on gender; the story disproves the stereotype that men have greater crisis composure than women.

Setting - Time:

British colonial era in India (pre-1947, when India was under British rule)

Setting - Place:

A colonial official's spacious dining room with an attached veranda in India