Previous
Constantia Pinner
The Colonel is the patriarch of the Pinner family and father to Constantia, Josephine, and Benny. Tyrannical, imposing, and cruel, the colonel retired from work as a colonial administrator in Ceylon and lived out his final years with his adult daughters. Since his wife died when his children were young, it is suggested that the colonel raised his children mostly on his own and that he treated them with varying degrees of severity—especially Josephine and Constantia, who were often subject to his demands (for errands and for silence in the apartment) and objects of his criticism (about their spending habits especially). In his old age, the colonel became senile and cranky around his daughters and his grandson, Cyril, and he does not seek forgiveness for his actions during his last moments alive—instead glaring at his daughters with one eye open. Though respected in the community (by Mr. Farolles and Nurse Andrews especially), the colonel’s behavior has torn his family apart, since his son and grandson have virtually abandoned their female relatives.
The Colonel Quotes in The Daughters of the Late Colonel
The The Daughters of the Late Colonel quotes below are all either spoken by The Colonel or refer to The Colonel . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Daughters of the Late Colonel Quotes
Supposing father had wanted to say something—something private to them. Not that he had. Oh, far from it! He lay there, purple, a dark, angry purple in the face, and never even looked at them when they came in. Then, as they were standing there, wondering what to do, he had suddenly opened one eye. Oh, what a difference it would have made, what a difference to their memory of him, how much easier to tell people about it, if he had only opened both! But no—one eye only. It glared at them a moment and then… went out.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Constantia and Josephine enter their father’s room to say good-bye to him before he dies, they are horrified to see their father respond by glaring at them with “one eye only” open, as if accusing them for a wrong they have committed against him. Even in his most vulnerable moment—his last few minutes of life—the Pinner patriarch terrifies his daughters, suggesting the profound and lasting influence of patriarchal authority on women. Indeed, Constantia and Josephine consistently recall the image of this “one eye,” which seems to serve as an omen or warning: though their father no longer directly impacts Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recu
“But—but it seems so weak,” said Josephine, breaking down.
“But why not be weak for once, Jug?” argued Constantia, whispering quite fiercely. “If it is weak.” And her pale stare flew from the locked writing-table—so safe—to the huge glittering wardrobe, and she began to breathe in a queer, panting way.
“Why shouldn’t we be weak for once in our lives, Jug? It’s quite excusable. Let’s be weak—be weak, Jug. It’s much nicer to be weak than to be strong.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Though Constantia is the younger sister of the two, she is often more headstrong than her older sister (it is mentioned that she once pushed their brother Benny into a pool during childhood). Ironically, though, she insists that they be “weak” when faced with the prospect of organizing their father’s belongings. Josephine imagines that their father is trapped inside his wardrobe, waiting to burst free and confront them. Constantia accepts this notion and decides to lock the wardrobe, effectively repressing any kind of psychological confrontation with their father, whose tyranny has severely affected them. At the climax of the narrative, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates.
“I say, Auntie Con, isn’t your clock a bit slow? I’ve got to meet a man at—at Paddington just after five. I’m afraid I shan’t be able to stay very long with grandfather.”
“Oh, he won’t expect you to stay very long!” said Aunt Josephine.
Constantia was still gazing at the clock. She couldn’t make up her mind if it was fast or slow. It was one or the other, she felt almost certain of that. At any rate, it had been.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Cyril notices that his aunts’ clock runs a “bit slow,” though this may be a fabricated excuse to leave their home early, since he anticipates an uncomfortable visit with his grandfather. Nonetheless, though, time is clearly out of joint in Constantia and Josephine’s household, since the sisters seem both childlike—wholly dependent on others and ignorant about the world around them—and mature (they are nearing middle age and no longer participate in the girlish rituals they used to practice). However, Constantia cannot decide whether time is unstable in their apartment; indeed, the only thing she can decide on is that it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae volupta
If mother had lived, might they have married? But there had been nobody for them to marry. There had been father’s Anglo-Indian friends before he quarreled with them. But after that she and Constantia never met a single man except clergymen. How did one meet men? Or even if they’d met them, how could they have got to know men well enough to be more than strangers? One read of people having adventures, being followed, and so on. But nobody had ever followed Constantia and her.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Josephine reflects on her life as a “spinster”: an unmarried woman nearing middle age. Since she and Constantia have not received opportunities to engage with the surrounding world, free of their father’s influence (and it is implied that they have had minimal education and spent minimal time away from family), Josephine has never had the chance to meet men and potentially find a husband. Marriage would be less restrictive than the life she has led taking care of her father, and yet all of her options in life—those she has realized and those she has not—involve men and patriarchal influence. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut
Until the barrel-organ stopped playing Constantia stayed before the Buddha, wondering, but not as usual, not vaguely. This time her wonder was like longing. […] There had been this other life, running out, bringing things home in bags, getting things on approval, discussing them with Jug, and taking them back to get more things on approval, and arranging father’s trays and trying not to annoy father. But it all seemed to have happened in a kind of tunnel. It wasn’t real. […] What did it mean? What was it she was always wanting? What did it all lead to? Now? Now?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Constantia contemplates a Buddha statue on her mantelpiece as a barrel-organ player goes by the house, having realized that she and Josephine no longer need to rush outside to silence the player on behalf of their father. Constantia’s interest in the figurine of the Buddha in her apartment suggests her fascination with transcendental concepts and worlds outside of her own, such as Eastern cultures (she also daydreams often about camels in the desert). Yet she has never been allowed to access these other worlds, since her life has been bound up in errands for her father. Though she sees this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem ac
Get the entire The Daughters of the Late Colonel LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
The Colonel Character Timeline in The Daughters of the Late Colonel
The timeline below shows where the character The Colonel appears in The Daughters of the Late Colonel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Daughters of the Late Colonel
...Nurse Andrews will be gone soon, and they realize that she had been kind to their father during his final days—though she had been reluctant to leave his bedside, which they feel...
(full context)
Mr. Farolles, a clergyman and a friend of the family, arrives the day their father dies and asks if the end had been peaceful. Josephine says it had been, but...
(full context)
...to wait. Josephine asks Mr. Farolles to arrange a simple funeral, and Constantia thinks that their father ’s funeral should be appropriate for his position. Mr. Farolles promises to enlist the help...
(full context)
Neither Josephine nor Constantia can believe that their father is never coming back. Josephine felt terrified when his coffin was lowered at the cemetery,...
(full context)
Josephine and Constantia decide to try to organize their father ’s belongings in his room. While their father was alive, they never disturbed him in...
(full context)
...open the chest of drawers but retreats quickly, feeling suddenly as if she has seen her father in the top drawer, hidden away as if preparing to attack. Josephine tells Constantia that...
(full context)
Once out of their father ’s room, the sisters sit down and look at each other. They decide to ask...
(full context)
...the costume of a colonial administrator. His right hand would shake up and down, like their father ’s did when he was impatient. Benny’s wife Hilda, unknown to the sisters, sat behind...
(full context)
Josephine decides that their father ’s watch would be the most apposite gift, though Constantia is surprised that she would...
(full context)
Josephine asks Cyril to come and see his grandfather . Cyril remarks that he thinks their clock is a bit slow and that he...
(full context)
Cyril and his aunts enter Grandfather Pinner ’s room, where he sits in front of a fire with his walking stick and...
(full context)
...dependent on her as they used to be; they no longer need a cook for their father . Josephine suggests that she and Constantia could manage their own food, either by making...
(full context)
...remember that they no longer have to stop the organ-grinder, whose music used to bother their father (who would “bellow” at them to get their attention). Their father’s walking stick will never...
(full context)
...married had their mother lived, but then recalls that there had been nobody to marry. Her father fell out with his Anglo-Indian friends, and she and Constantia never met a single man...
(full context)
...songs she made up. Constantia reflects on the life she has spent running errands for her father and seeking his approval, but this life seems unreal—as if it occurred in a “kind...
(full context)
