The Daughters of the Late Colonel

"The Daughters of the Late Colonel" is a 1922 short story by Katherine Mansfield. It was first published in the London Mercury in May 1922, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.^[1]

Plot summary

In bed, Constantia suggests giving their late father's top hat to the porter, but her sister Josephine spurns the idea. After briefly giving a thought to letters to be sent to Ceylon, they hear a noise coming from a mouse, prompting Constantia to think of how sad it must be for the mouse, as there are no crumbs around. The last time Josephine and Constantia saw their father, Nurse Andrews was stationed by the bedside; the Colonel opened only one eye, glaring at the daughters before he passed away. Nurse Andrews, whom they invited to stay for a week after their father, the Colonel, died, is annoying them by overeating. Mr. Farolles, a clergyman who offers to arrange the funeral, visits them and suggests they take Holy Communion, to feel better, but the sisters prefer to do it later.

Two mornings later, the daughters reluctantly go into their father's room to sort out his belongings. Josephine feels their father would have been angry at being buried and having to pay too much for his funeral. They discuss whether or not to send their father's watch to their brother, Benny. They are concerned about a native bringing it to him, as there is no postal service there. They think of giving the watch to their nephew, Cyril. As they talk about who should get the watch, they recall Cyril coming over for tea, and how they talked about Benny, his father, who liked meringues.

Kate the maid asks boldly if the sisters want their fish fried or boiled for dinner, which prompts the sisters to fire Kate. They are unsure about whether she snoops inside their dresser drawers or not. They hear a barrel organ and realize they don't have to run down to stop it because their father isn't there to complain about it anymore. Then they wonder if things would be different if their mother, who died in Ceylon when they were little, were still alive. They've never come across men, except perhaps in Eastbourne. Finally, the story ends with the sisters talking about their future, but they cannot remember what they wanted to say.

Characters

• The late Colonel; the tyrannical father of Constantia and Josephine.
• Josephine; Mr Farolles calls her 'Miss Pinner'. Constantia calls her 'Jug'.
• Constantia; Josephine calls her 'Con'.'
• Kate, the maid.
• The porter
• Nurse Andrews
• Mr Farolles
• Mr Knight
• Benny, the late colonel's son. He lives in Ceylon.
• Hilda, Benny's wife.
• Cyril, Benny's son

Major themes

• Death
• Independence
• Confusion
• Fear

Literary significance

This short story is written in the modernist mode, without a set structure, and with many shifts in narrative.

Footnotes

1. ^ Katherine Mansfield, Selected Stories, Oxford World's Classics, explanatory notes

External links

• Full text