Society's Dangers in Mansfield and Burgess: A Comparative Study

Introduction: Art, Society, and Human Nature

Art reflects life and, as a result, it represents human nature. Whether we are reading a realistic story or a futuristic one, we come into contact with characters that make us think about the past, the present, and the future. Two stories that illustrate this point are "The Daughters of the Late Colonel" by Katherine Mansfield and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. These two stories reflect social concerns of the times in which they were written.

"The Daughters of the Late Colonel" represents a patriarchal era when women were not allowed much freedom. Josephine and Constantia become victims of their late father and his overprotective ways. They are victims of their environment because the world in which they live encourages women to be dependent upon the men in their lives. They are so codependent on their father that when he dies, they cannot function normally. Their characters serve as warnings against a society that is overbearing toward women.

In A Clockwork Orange, Alex is a victim of a lawless society. The novel was written at a time when violence and morality were significant social concerns, and it looks into a future in which morality has been left behind and law and order are relics of the past. Alex's character serves as a warning against the absence of morality. Both stories illustrate the dangers of extremes regarding individuality and encourage a healthy balance for a productive society.

Patriarchal Society in 'The Daughters of the Late Colonel'

In "The Daughters of the Late Colonel," we learn much about the patriarchal society of the early 1920s. Josephine and Constantia are very dependent upon their father—so much so that after he dies, they do not know what to do with their lives. Early in the story, we read that "neither of them could possibly believe that father was never coming back" (Mansfield 2225). While their father may have thought he was doing well for his daughters, he was really harming them because they became so dependent upon him. They lived a sheltered life and did not come into contact with many people. We see no dreams or goals in their lives, and the girls do not seem motivated to do much of anything. Their lives were so involved with their father that his death could very well have been theirs. We read that their lives were spent "looking after father, and at the same time keeping out of father's way. But now? But now? The thieving sun touched Josephine gently" (2235–6). In addition, we are told that Constantia "stayed before the Buddha wondering, but not as usual, not vaguely. This time her wondering was like longing" (2236).

Here we see two women who have absolutely no idea what to do with their lives because they are victims of an oppressive society that binds women to men. We see how human nature can be shaped by society—however small or large that society may be. Josephine and Constantia are unable to carry on a simple conversation because they have forgotten what they were going to say. Throughout the story, when the sisters should be thinking about the rest of their lives, they are preoccupied with petty matters such as Nurse Andrews and Kate. The fact that they cannot get beyond their father's funeral is evidence that they are victims of their environment. Their father had protected them to the point that they were not capable of thinking about their own future. His decisions shaped their lives down to the minutest details. While he wanted to protect and provide for them, he effectively destroyed whatever chance they had for independence and survival.

Lawlessness and Moral Vacuum in A Clockwork Orange

Similarly, A Clockwork Orange illustrates the dangers society presents to the delicate fabric of human nature. Because its setting takes place in a futuristic society, it examines a generation that has moved away from morality, law, and order. Punks can roam the streets, break into homes, and destroy other people's lives without fear of retribution. Alex is a victim of this environment—an example of what can go wrong when society erases morality. The most noticeable symptom of this moral vacuum is the language that Alex adopts.

Ambivalent Endings and the Unresolved Self

Both stories end with a degree of ambivalence. At the end of A Clockwork Orange, Alex understands that something has changed within him, but he cannot fully process it. When his friends want to know the plans for the evening, he tells them he does not know and that he needs to "be on like my own and sort things out" (Burgess 185). We sense that he may have learned from his experiences, but he later admits:

didn't like care much. It was like something soft getting into me and I could not pony why. What I wanted these days I did not know… There was something happening inside me, and I wondered if it was like some disease or if it was what they had done to me that time upsetting my gulliver and perhaps going to make me real bezoomny. (186)

Here we see that Alex knows something is different but does not know what to do with that knowledge. The story ends without our knowing whether Alex was ever truly "cured" or whether he was only saying what he had been programmed to say. He also begins to feel that he may be too old to take part in and enjoy the same pranks as before. He feels "a bolshy big hollow inside my plott, feeling very surprised too at myself. I knew what was happening, O my brothers. I was like growing up" (190). Here we see the conflict that arises within human nature when one begins to consider another point of view. We never know whether Alex is truly transformed, because he never admits to wrongdoing and never seeks forgiveness. A Clockwork Orange closes with hope but no certainty. In this way, Alex resembles Josephine and Constantia: none of them knows what to do with their life at the story's end.

Works Cited

Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1962.

Mansfield, Katherine. "The Daughters of the Late Colonel." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. II. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1986.