The daughters of the late Colonel 1 PDF

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This is an essay written about a story of two girls who were terrorized by their father even after his death....

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Diana Pashkova English 113.3 Professor Ella Ophir December 7th 2020 Confrontation with Reality the Daughters of the Late Colonel "The Daughters of the Late Colonel" by Katherine Mansfield is a short story about two daughters Constantia and Josephine, who lost their father, the Colonel and have to learn to live on their own. The story takes place post the second world war, a time where women have little to no authority. Where the man of the household has an imperatorial standing. Living with their cruel, aggressive father, the two daughters are prisoners living in a cage they call home. The Colonel is their terrorizing warden. Constantia and Josaphine are terrified of their father throughout all their life because of his short temper. He has groomed them to be obedient and accommodating. Colonel's total control over the actions of his daughters causes them to grow up as weak-willed and indecisive women. Thus, amplifying the Colonels power over them. Even postmortem Colonel strikes fear into his daughter's souls. After the Colonel's death, the two sisters have to make many decisions that they find challenging on their own, allowing the reader to understand the extent of the Colonel's rule over them. Katherine Mansfield presented us with a work of art. Her use of symbolism, attentiveness to detail, and relationship dynamics allowed the reader to fully experience the anxiety, loneliness and dread that the sisters faced. This narrative is a great example of how a short story can be the most adequate form to confront readers with reality as they perceive it.

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One of the major relationships that Katherine uses to lure the reader into her tale was that of the two sisters and their cruel father. This relationship shapes these women's entire lives. It gives the reader the opportunity to truly be able to relate to the sisters and sympathize with them. It allows the reader to experience the anxiety the sisters feel due to their father's horrific temper. Josephine and Constantia are two lovely sisters that are suffocated by their strict father's rule. " their lives quite sheltered, and all their actions censored by him." This leads them to be terrified of their father and they do anything in their power to please him. Even in his final moments of life, he managed to inflict terror on his daughters. " He lay there, purple, a dark, angry purple in the face, and never even looked at them when they came in."(“Daughters of the Late Colonel”3) This shows the Colonels despise for his children. A time where most parents would say their final goodbyes and comfort their children, the Colonel "one eye only... glared at them a moment and then ... went out." (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”3)This moment traumatizes the women making them fear their father's wrath even after his passing. The Colonel continues to lurk in the minds of his children petrifying them with every decision that they make. Even at his funeral, Josephine states, " to think that she and Constantia had done this thing without asking his permission. What would father say when he found out?" (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”4) She was horrified when she thought of her deceased father's reaction to his burial. “Buried. You two girls had me buried!" She heard his stick thumping." (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”4) This statement shows just how much " He terrorized his daughters by abusive words... by the thumping of the stick and shouting at them." Even after death, Colonel dominated the household, creeping around like an angered brownie, "watching there, hidden away-just behind the door-handle- ready to spring." (“Daughters of the Late

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Colonel”5) His forbidden room is unrecognizable to the sisters. "The nightmarish door without a handle aptly indicates their powerlessness and their reliance on their father." Colonels' abuse affected the sister's relationships with others as well as with themselves. The relationship between the two sisters and their servant Kate is quite odd, especially when considering the timeline in which this tale partook. The servant, Kate, recognizing that the two sisters are weak-willed takes advantage of their character and proceeds to treat the sisters with much disrespect. Kate disregards the sisters' positions of authority, even after the death of their father, and continues to behave in a manner that most people would find repulsive. "Proud young Kate, the enchanted princess, came in to see what the old tabbies wanted now."(“Daughters of the Late Colonel” 2)This quote concisely summarizes the relationships between the three women. Kate " the enchanted princess," (“Daughters of the Late Colonel” 5) believes that she has power over "the old tabbies" (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”2). The kind sisters endure her behaviour and proceed to go out of their way as to not bother their ignorant servant. The inability to stand up for themselves is a result of Constantias and Josephine's upbringing. The sisters' inability to stand up to their intimidating father resulted in them being unable to stand up to others in their future. Katherine did a brilliant job capturing the difficult relationship between the daughters and their father as well as other members of the household. Her use of words and descriptions allows the reader to immerse themselves in the narrative despite the limited length of the piece. In conjunction, she used symbolism throughout her writing which a careful reader can use to aid the understanding of the character's development.

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Katherines use of symbolism is quite prominent through her writing. Its use provides the piece with additional vibrancy and colour. It presents the reader with further knowledge about the story and the plot, without using an absurd amount of space. When the sisters are visited by their nephew Cyril, they escort him to his Grandfathers room. There, "He was sitting in front of a roaring fire, clasping his stick." (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”7) The roaring fire is a symbol of Colonels raging temper. The fear striking stick symbolized Colonel's fearsome rule and dominance over the household. Later on, the realization that the stick “will never thump again” (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”9) brings a smile to Constantia as she understands that this is the end of her father's tyranny. The once cold and darkroom is then penetrated by light. Josephine " was drawn over to the window by gentle beams..." (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”10) The sisters turned to each other to express feelings about their future. However, their indecisiveness obstructs their ability to do so. Thus, proving that their father's influence still lingers despite his death. At that moment, a large cloud began to cover the sun, blocking its rays. The gentle beams of light are a representation of the slight hope that the sisters begin to feel after their dull and fearful life. However, the large cloud symbolizes the sister's inability to move on. It symbolizes their fear and reliance on their father, despite his death. Constantia and Josephine desperately need to overcome their fears and gain confidence in order to live a normal life. Katherine's attentiveness to detail, as well as her use of language and imagery also contributed to helping the reader emerge themselves in the narrative. It allowed the reader to feel the fear and the loneliness of the sisters. Katherine's use of language and detail indicated the period of time in which the story partook, aiding the reader to understand the sister's

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situation of helplessness on a deeper level. Her use of punctuation thought the text also helped depict the sister's characters. " In moments of insecurity, distraction, when the sisters are confused or agitated, their thoughts are represented by broken syntax, dashes, repetitions and ellipses." Such use of punctuation shows the mannerism of the characters' speech. Solidifying the fact that the sisters are indecisive and doubtful. Mansfield's use of imagery also contributes to helping the reader imagine the story in a more vivid way." He was sitting in front of the roaring fire, clasping his stick. He had a thick rug over his knees. On his lap there lay a beautiful pale yellow silk handkerchief." (“Daughters of the Late Colonel”7) Such details help the reader imagine the setting with more accuracy, thus the reader is able to forget about their current reality and dive into the narrative where they can experience new emotions of sorrow, despair, hopelessness, and anguish. According to Charles May, a short story “presents us with moments in which we become aware of anxiety, loneliness, dread, concern, and thus find the safe, secure and systematic life we usually lead disrupted and momentarily destroyed. The short story is the most adequate form to confront us with reality as we perceive it in our most profound moments” Katherine Mansfield created a short story narrative that fits all of Charles May's criteria of the short story form. This narrative confirms that short stories are able to captivate the reader and submerge them into the plot to the same degree as large novels. Her careful use of symbolism, punctuation, imagery, and relationship dynamics provide the reader with all the necessary information needed to understand the complex inner struggles that the sisters face after their father's death.

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Works Cited

Mansfield,Katherine. “Daughters of the Late Colonel”. Kascakova,Janka. Speaking Silence in “The Daughters of the Late Colonel”....