The unidentified guest steps in briefly before the other guests arrive, but then disappears as the rest of the party plays out. Act one of the play ends with Lavinia returning to her old house with the rest of the guests. However, when Lavinia leaves Edward, he and Celia decide to end their relationship as well. In another scene, we learn that Edward and Celia have been carrying on an affair behind Lavinia and their friends’ backs. Peter is deeply in unrequited love with Celia, and Edward agrees to help. Edward is then met by another guest, Peter Quilpe, who asks for Edward’s help to speak to another guest, Celia Coplestone. The guest then promises to return the next day with Lavinia before he leaves. The guest first tries to convince Edward that the separation could be a good thing for both of them, but Edward makes clear that he is determined to get her back. The two have been married for five years, but have no children. Edward meets with a mysterious guest who arrives at the party, and their conversation leads to the revelation that Lavinia has recently left Edward. It was arranged by his wife, Lavinia, but she is not present. The play begins at the home of Edward Chamberlayne, who is hosting a cocktail party.
Although it starts out seeming to be a satire of traditional British drawing room comedies, over the course of the play it takes on the tone of a darker philosophical study of human relations. These include the isolation of the human condition, and the power of Christian sacrifice to further the life of the community as a whole. Focusing on a troubled married couple that settles their problems and moves on with their life with the help of a mysterious stranger who attends a cocktail party with them, it explores themes that are common in many of Eliot’s works. Eliot that first premiered in Edinburgh in 1949 and on Broadway one year later. The Cocktail Party is a play by British playwright T.S.
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