20 Questions on "The Daughters of the Late Colonel"

Gentle readers: Please note that the first number in parentheses refers to page in Great Conversations 6, the second to the numbered section of the story.

1. Why does Constantia cry as she answers each letter of condolence? Why afterwards does it transpire that “Even now, though, when she said over to herself sadly, ‘we miss our dear father so much’ she could have cried if she’d wanted to.”   
2. Why does Constantia feel pity for the mouse (“Poor little thing...It was awful to think of it not finding anything. What would it do “)? (338,1) 
3. Why are mealtimes “now that the strain was over” a “trial” for the sisters.  (339, 2)
4. Josephine and Constantia ask Nurse Andrews to stay on another week after their father dies, even though she had “rather overdone the not leaving him till the very last.” (340, 2) Why do they quickly come to regret extending the invitation?  
5. Why is Kate referred to as “the enchanted princess.”  Why does she serve an empty pot of jam? (339,2)
6. When Farolles says to the sisters (341, 4), “These are the times when God wants us to be helpful to one another,” do you think the sisters are comforted by his words?  Is the death of a family member a special time for kindness? 
7. The sisters decline Mr. Farolles' offer to serve them Communion at home. What do you believe is behind their refusal (341, 4)? 
8. Regarding the burial, why do the sisters think, “What would father say when he found out?” and “he [father] was bound to find out sooner or later?” (342,5) 
9. The sisters are hesitant to go through their late father's belongings. Why? What are they afraid of? 
10. Read the paragraph starting, “It couldn’t be helped” and ending with “the quiet seemed to shake into little pieces” (343, 6).  How might they be attempting to have “deceived Kate.” 
11. When Constantia locks her father’s wardrobe, why is it “one of those amazingly bold things that she’d done about twice before in their lives.”  (section 6) 
12. Why is there a flashback at the end of the section 6 about pushing Benny into the pond? 
13. Aside from the litany of excuses they provide, why do you think the sisters would rather give their father's watch to Cyril than Benny in Ceylon? Are they guided more by practical or by selfish motives (section 8)? 
14. Why are the sisters so disappointed that Cyril does not have an appetite at tea? (346,8) 
15. Why do the sisters press Cyril to say whether his father still likes meringues, and then report the answer to their father? What does this incident signify about the family dynamics (section 8 and 9)? 
16. What leads to the sisters' discussion concerning Kate's dismissal? (section 10)?   
17. Why does Josephine think they can’t postpone Kate’s dismissal again, if they “postpone it this time.”? Why in the end are they unable to come to a conclusion (section 11) 
18. Constantia focuses on "her favourite Buddha" in section 12. What does the Buddha signify? What does the Buddha know that Constantia doesn't know? 
19. Read the paragraph in section 12 starting “until the barrel organ stopped playing Constantia stayed before the Buddha” and ending “What did it all lead to. Now? Now?”  What is the answer to her question, “What was it she was always wanting”? 
20. What do you think will change for the sisters now that their father is dead? What does your answer signify about their father's role in their lives? 

Mansfield's "The Daughters of the Late Colonel"

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923),
in a photo taken in 1912

Katherine Mansfield's short story "The Daughters of the Late Colonel," takes place during the week following the death and burial of Colonel Pinner.  Through the words, thoughts, and interactions of his two daughters, Constantia and Josephine, we become privy to the state of the Pinner household, and how death has disrupted it.  In particular, Mansfield uses the Colonel's death to put into relief two characters: the family's housekeeper, Kate, and the sisters' nephew Cyril.  Constantia and Josephine remain the main characters of the story. It's fascinating to consider whether the sisters are separate or fused.

In Sections 8 and 9 of the story, Cyril pays his aunts a visit for afternoon tea.  In a scene either real or imagined, they usher him into the inner sanctum of the Colonel's room.  It's told as part of the sisters' dialogue as to the disposition of the Colonel's watch, a key symbol in "The Daughters of the Late Colonel."

Decameron: "A Plain Most Fair and Delectable"

Illustration from Le Décameron, published  in 1432, in a Flemish edition.

Many thanks to the 20 participants in our group's first-ever virtual book discussion. It was necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak, and we held it via Zoom video conferencing last Tuesday.  In keeping with the zeitgeist, the spirit of this terrifying time, the subject of our discussion was Boccaccio's Decameron.  

The Decameron was written in the mid-14th century, and its introduction gives Boccaccio's reportage on an outbreak of bubonic plague in his home city of Florence in the year 1348. Ten different narrators, quarantined in a country villa, recount ten stories a day for ten days.

I suppose the Decameron is best known for its bawdy tales.  One we looked at, the tale of Nathan and Mitridanes from Day 10, in contrast is a deeply philosophical reflection on how and why the kindest souls among us strive to the nth degree to be generous to others.

Participants wondered why Boccaccio chose to narrate gory details of suffering and death. In fact, he explains his motive at the very beginning of his introduction:

This horrid beginning will be to you even such as to wayfarers is a steep and rugged mountain, beyond which stretches a plain most fair and delectable, which the toil of the ascent and descent does but serve to render more agreeable to them; for as the last degree of joy brings with it sorrow, so misery has ever its sequel of happiness.

Bibliotherapy for This Difficult Time

Boccaccio (1313-1375)

I'll be leading a Special Edition discussion of two portions of Boccaccio's Decameron, set during the plague year of 1348, on Tuesday evening, April 14th, at 7:15 p.m., via Zoom.

The first part is Boccaccio's eyewitness account of the plague conditions in Florence, the second the story of Nathan and Mitridanes, a parable on generosity.  Read Boccaccio's introduction and you'll understand how a 14th-century plague differed from our current 21st-century crisis.  Then join Boccaccio's storytellers on warm and verdant country afternoons for some great escapist literature.

To register and receive the Zoom link the day before the program, click here and scroll to bottom of page.

To get started with the readings (the "First Day Introduction" and "Day 10, Story 3") please go to:

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=d01intro&lang=eng

and

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1003&lang=eng

OR

use a search engine to find the Brown University Decameron Web.  You will find the texts in both English and Italian, and a wealth of valuable information on Boccaccio and his Decameron.

Check here in coming days for details about joining our Zoom conversation.