Patriarchy
These young women are the titular Daughters of the Late Colonel. Their home is defined by honor and patriarchy. Their father was a participating member in the government's hierarchy, and he was met with respect by the members of his community. What do the girls feel about patriarchy? Without saying one word about it, they explain. The clergy comes in to offer them a customary Communion table, for comfort and mourning, and they decline him. They are not mad at religion or something; they just do not care about that system of power. They are over-exposed to patriarchy, and they just want some space to stand back up on their own two feet.
Freedom and authority
These girls explore each day together moment by moment. Sometimes they speak about their family, and sometimes they stay more private. Then, they are asked to accomplish some goals together; clean up the house; send heirlooms to new owners; execute the will; arbitrate with the community about funeral arrangements, etc. What is this imagery? This is the imagery of absolute authority. Who is in charge of all Dad's prized possessions now? The daughters he never trusted. Again and again, the girls comment, "Dad would not like this," or "Dad would hate that." They are experiencing authority, remembering the things they were never allowed to do before.
Character imagery
The novel takes two siblings and sort of smears their character traits across the plot of the book so that in certain coincidental encounters, the sisters will expose their character traits. One can quickly realize that these girls are socially damaged by their father's approach to parenting and by that father's sudden death. The novel, when seen as a character portrait, can be understood through aversion: The girls share several aversions: they are averse to their own sense of injustice and anger, because no doubt outbursts in their home would be met with traumatic consequences, and they are averse of strangers around their home, because people add chaos to a tender family dynamic. Secretly, their characters are shaped by honor, and by a chronic self-doubt that would be explained by a domineering father.
The outside world
The girls unwittingly betray an aversion to outsiders. Each time someone comes into their space, they feel like there is a bull loose in a china shop. They seem afraid, like they might get in trouble if something unexpected happens. The outside world is full of chaos and unknowns, so the girls tend to prefer their cloistered home environment, because at least they understand how to navigate that orderly dynamic. They express resent against their maid, the nurse, the pastor, and finally, an organ musician. Upon walking out to stop the organ musician, they realize suddenly that their relationship to the outside world could use some healing.
