Is the story Daughters of the late Colonel more comic than tragic Essay

Is the story Daughters of the late Colonel more comic than tragicfor the reader overall? Be sure enough to comment on Mansfields use oflanguage.The story Daughters of the late Colonel, written by KatherineMansfield takes place during Victorian times, based around twosisters whose father had recently died. Mansfield describes thestruggles of these two women as they try to express their femininityand overcome the barriers of etiquette and the presence of theirfather, whom they feared. The story ends as the sisters Josephine andConstantia attempt to return free of their control world but failto, thus ending the story in tragedy. Despite this the path leading tothe tragic ending is riddled in ironical moments. Therefore it mightbe said about the story that it is more comic than tragic for thereader.Mansfield often uses humor as a technique to name the darker,suppressed side of the two sisters and she often does it subtly. Acasual reader might never discover this area of the story. I t is as ifMansfield employs comic moments as a mask to cover the tragedy of theplay.On one occasion Constantia is worrying about an imaginary mouseA spasm of pity squeezed her heart. Poor small-scale thing She wishedshed left a tiny piece of biscuit on the dressing table. It was awfulto think of it not finding anything. What would it do?The bearing Constantia exerts herself is simply pathetic. The reader isamused at her antics to attempt to bring the mouse some food. Thisobsession with detail is further emphasized with the rhetoricalquestion at the end of the quote, as well as the phrase poor littlething- its short length and exclamation mark emphasizes itsimportance, and the use of poor... ...ephine was unspoken for a moment. She stared at a big cloud wherethe sun had been. Then she replied shortly, Ive forgotten too.During the final section, the sun represents their chance for freedom.Golden rays symbolized the richness and exiting in the raw life which theycould have taken. Yet, the whole new path the sisters might have takenwas blocked out, symbolizing the cloud. It is thus that the story endsin tragedy- the sisters fail to break free, and remain stuck insidetheir self-imposed world. Their late fathers influence is too greatfor them to overcome.In conclusion, it may be said that the story is both a prank and atragedy. However, because Mansfield cleverly disguises the tragedy toblend into hilarious moments the reader gets an overall sense of comicfun. Therefore, Daughters of the Late Colonel is more of a comedy thana tragedy.