Both “The Odour of Chrysanthemums” by D. H. Lawrence and “The
Daughters of the Late Colonel” by Katherine Mansfield have female protagonists. These flawed
women face difficult futures because of their unusual
situations.
Elizabeth Bates finds herself waiting for her husband, a
coal miner, much of the time. She believes that he has stopped at the pub before coming home.
Elizabeth does not relate well to her children or her husband since her life has not gone as she
hoped it would. She is disillusioned and disappointed.
As she waits
for Walter, her anger grows; then, Elizabeth’s fear comes to the forefront. Eventually, she finds
that her husband has been killed in a mining accident.
When she
cleans her husband’s body for the wake, Elizabeth discovers that she did not know who her husband
really was. They shared sex, but that was really all they had in common. She withheld her
emotions and even herself from him. It was no wonder that he had to drink before he came home;
she had not been there for him.
Elizabeth realizes that death is
the master of everything, and man has no control over it. Yet, life can be lived as a person
chooses. Elizabeth knows that she will face many hardships in the future---finances, pregnancy,
and her other children.
There are two daughters in “The Daughters
of the Late Colonel.” The older sister is Josephine, who has the nickname Jug. She and her sister
Constantia have spent their lives taking care of their father. With his death, the ladies find
themselves in the middle of life without the skills to change their future.
The tragic lives of these women are revealed in the fear of their
father despite his death and concern that he will be angry having been buried. Sacrificing their
happiness, the sisters are stuck in the past despite their desire to go
forward.
The dialogue between the sisters provides the perspectives
and glimpses into their minds. Jug, the oldest, takes on the role of the pragmatist. As the level
headed and literal sister, Jug sees the reality of their lives more than her sister. At one
point, she looks at the table and sees an insect crawling on the table while her sister [Con]
gazes out the window daydreaming.
Much of their discussions take
place in bed as their minds continue to think of things that they want to do or try to remember
about incidents. Despite her attempts as the practical sister, Jug like Con has no understanding
of the hardships of life. One of their discussions centers on letting the cook go.
"What it comes to is,
if we did"–and glancing at the door–"give Kate notice"–she raised her voice again–"we could
manage our own food.""Why not?" cried Constantia. The idea was so
exciting. She clasped her hands. "What should we live on, Jug?""Oh,
eggs in various forms!" said Jug, lofty again. "And, besides, there are all the cooked
foods.""But I've always heard," said Constantia, "they are
considered so very expensive.”
The
ladies understand nothing about the everyday things of life even their
food.
As Jug and her sister try to move forward, every decision
which needs to be made must stand the test of “what would father say or do.” With the death of
the father, Jug’s mind races into the possibilities of the future. Probably the sisters will have
difficulty moving beyond their dominating father. Yet, with Jug open to change, the hope is that
there will be a dramatic move into the modern world.
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