Comparative Analysis of Constraints on Female Personal Autonomy in "An Average Dead Father" and "The Daughters of the Late Colonel"

This comparative literary analysis investigates how female personal autonomies are constrained in Uršuľa Kovalyk’s “An Average Dead Father” and Katherine Mansfield’s “The Daughters of the Late Colonel.”

Using close reading and theoretical frameworks—including feminism, psychoanalytic thought, and postcolonial elements—the author examines three primary constraints: rigid social expectations, the lingering psychological impact of posthumous patriarchal authority, and the enduring effects of paternal neglect.

The paper concludes that these factors distort the protagonists' identities and values. It is distinguished by its nuanced comparison of different temporal and cultural settings and its detailed analysis of symbolic imagery, such as the "brown potato" and the "light-blue tear."