Social Unity In The Cocktail Party By T. S. Eliot

Now we are transported from the world of The Family Reunion into the world of The Cocktail Party, from the world of the Monchenseys into the world of the Chamberlaynes, from the world of Agatha, Mary and the aunts and uncles into the world of Reilly, Julia, Peter, Alex andCelia. Here In The Cocktail Party the atmosphere of party is there,there is psychological loneliness, the nervous breakdown, the spiritualanguish, the sense of despair, insanity, the sense of sin and expiation,the sense of service and sacrifice. In this play, too, T. S. Eliot waspreoccupied with the depiction of human drama beneath the social andpublic masks of parties, symbols of social unity. But these parties end either in failure or in fiasco: social unity, it seems, is difficult to achieve.If at all, it can be had by some compromise between the members of it.The Cocktail Party (1949) is Eliot’s second play dealing withcontemporary setting. It sketches the fashionable life of …show more content…
His wife Lavinia, who herself proposed to give a party on the same day, is not present in her house.Celia Coplestone, Alexander MacColgie Gibbs, Peter Quilpe, JuliaShuttlethwaite and the Unidentified Guest (who is actually Reilly) arethe guests of the day assembled to join the party. All of them requestJulia to tell the story about Lady Klootz and the wedding cake.Edward does not know ail the guests. He has no idea as towhere his wife has gone, but he lies to them that she has gone to heraunt’s house in the country as the latter is seriously ill. The UnidentifiedGuest knows that Edward is in a mood to talk to him and that he, beinga stranger, can talk more frankly. He inquires about Edward’s marriedlife and knows that he is not happy with his wife, and that the reason forher disapperance is not known. She may not return at all. He promisesEdward that though he is a stranger to him, his wife will be back