During the modern period, writers were concerned with "making it new." People had become disillusioned, largely due to the devastation of the First World War, and were fed up with the hypocrisy of Victorian society. The way people see themselves and society has changed; they wanted to address the issues that the Victorians ignored and improve society. "The Late Colonel's Daughters" by Katherine Mansfield is undoubtedly a modernist tale. The characteristics it possesses in both form and content prevent it from belonging to any previous literary period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The very fact that the author, Katherine Mansfield, is writing proves that this story belongs to the modernist period. In the past, writers were traditionally upper-class white males from central European cities (particularly London). Mansfield, on the other hand, is an average middle-class woman from the colonies (New Zealand). Mansfield didn't need to write under a man's name to be successful. If this story had been written in an earlier time, it would not have been taken seriously unless it was thought to have been written by a man. With the modern period came the emergence of feminism. In the 1920s, most women had the right to vote; but they were still fighting for equality. Writing allowed women to demonstrate that they were equal to men. It also gave women a voice, showing that they had a point of view and that it was worth listening to. This is a new development that was not achieved until the modernist era. Although this is a modern story, written by a modernist writer, the main characters, Constantia and Josephine, are not modern women. At the beginning of the story their behavior makes them seem like little girls, only later we discover that they are actually a little older. This is because they have had arrested development. Under their father's strict tyranny, they were trained as soldiers to serve him and stay away from him. They see themselves with enormous guilt as extra expenses. They have been infantilized, because everyone expects them to get married and their husbands to provide for them. The Colonel symbolizes Victorian society. Now that he's dead, the girls have the freedom to do whatever they want. However, due to the way they were raised, Victorianism is so ingrained in them that they don't know how to express anything different. In the father's room, everything is covered with white sheets, representing the false facades or hypocrisy of Victorian society. When Josephine pulls up the curtain, it “flies up and the rope flies behind, rolling around the stick, and the little tassel taps as if trying to free itself.” He is trying to break free from the confines of the Victorian period. Constantia and Josephine also unconsciously desire to be free, but must first realize that they have been prisoners. Girls are afraid to open anything because they know it will lead to big changes and they actually just want to leave everything as it is. Likewise, at the end of the story, the girls have not made any progress in their lives. As Constantia's name suggests, the girls are constant in their ways. They are afraid that their father will be angry because they buried him; but these girls have been buried all their lives. This tale represents a precipice, after the Victorian period and at the very beginning of the modern period, where there is still so much potential. The girls reach the edge of this precipice when the organ grinder approaches and the sun comes out, like a visual representationof their “light bulb moment.” Unfortunately the epiphany is lost in all their civilizations as to who will speak first; but it presents possibilities for the future. This strong symbolism/abstraction is another aspect of the story that places it in the modern period. In earlier periods, literary works tended to have clear, easy-to-understand literal meanings. Costanza and Giuseppina are not modern women; but they are not even heroines. They are more like antiheroes and seem inadequate in many ways. They didn't have the opportunity to do anything heroic because modernists believed those opportunities were rare in real life. This goes hand in hand with the “No more parades” attitude that followed the First World War. There are no words such as “Glory”, “Noble”, “Honour” or “Heroic” used in this tale, whereas in previous periods these were common words. The modernists were tired of hypocrisy. They wanted everything swept under the carpet, so that there could be no false facades; everything was presented as it was. Although these girls seem inadequate, modernists believed that it was a more realistic, therefore better picture. Instead of finding comfort in religion at the time of their father's death, when Mr. Farolles comes to visit them, they describe the scene as "embarrassing." The Victorians, and even more so the Romantics, had a strong faith in God. It is only in modern times that we have the feeling that “God is dead.” When Mr. Farolles asks the girls if they want to take communion, they compare it to being “under torture.” Communion is one of the most important and revered aspects of the Church, and call it torture would have been heresy in earlier times! The lack of respect for God goes hand in hand with the lack of respect for authority that followed the First World War. Not only do the girls have no God, they don't have anyone else either: they are alienated. As “old maids” they see no prospect of marriage, but they also see no other way of life. As unmarried women, they feel as if they do not fit in with the rest of society. this was inevitable, something everyone experiences. It showed that they weren't in tune with everyone else, they were individuals. In the Victorian era, fitting in was a major concern of people. The fact that these girls are alienated from the rest of society and have no faith in God shows that this is a modernist work. Another aspect that helps situate this literary work in the modernist period is the meaninglessness of the conversations. If you look closely at what the characters say, very little actually matters. In one instance, the girls discuss Cyril and how he couldn't come to their father's funeral. Josephine says it would have been nice if he could have come, and Connie replies "and he would have loved it so much," without thinking about what she was saying. Of course Cyril would not have liked a funeral; this response is simply thoughtless nonsense. The "don't think about what she was saying" part is key, this conversation doesn't really matter to her; only half listen. This is because modernists believed that much of life was meaningless. In the previous writing, the conversations were flawless. Someone would ask a question and the other person would have a flawless answer, almost as if it had been planned. Modernists were concerned with things being more realistic, so by including meaninglessness in conversations, they help make it so. Naturalism is another literary device that was not used before the modern period. It was employed in an attempt to make things seem more realistic, closer to what they would be like in real life. For example, instead of simply saying that the.