"The Daughters of the Late Colonel" by Katherine Mansfield is a subtle short story about two daughters of the late colonel who are left with the task of preparing his funeral and getting on with their lives after the tragic event of their father's death. For these two women living without their father might be harder than expected because they had come to rely on him for their every need. This story is unlike any other that has been discussed thus far. Unlike characters, like Jane Eyre, who possess a strong will and desire to break through the sexual barrier and prove that women are equal to men, these women lack power and conviction to drive them into a fulfilling life. This short story exemplifies the theme that individual thinking is a key factor to a rich life.
Constantia and Josephine, the Colonel's daughters, lack the self-confidence to make sound judgments.
Colonel Orie W. Coyle Special Collection Photo
Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Muir McFarlane boarding U...
"Cover" of a narrated 2005 eBook of the short stor...When the story opens, the girls are discussing to whom to give their fathers top-hat. They discuss giving it to the porter, but unable to decide. That shows how indecisive they actually are. Without their father to make the decision, it cannot be made. The Late Colonel, himself, must have been a firm, controlling man. Even though he isn't alive, the sense of who he was can be felt throughout the whole story. First, at the funeral the girls are preoccupied about what their father would have said. Josephine said, "Father will never forgive us for this-never." This shows the insecurity of these women. The colonel doesn't even know anything about the funeral. He was dead! Again, when the girls went into their dead father's room, they felt watched by him and felt as if he were angry with them for being their without permission. Josephine and...