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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."
