The Colonel
The Colonel is more than that any mere symbol of authority. His title grants him the authority of a military officer. As a father and grandfather, he is the bona fide paterfamilias of the entire Pinner clan. That his hold over the family retains a strong grip even in death situates him symbolically as the story’s symbol of patriarchal dominance of society.
The Colonel’s Eye
The singular act defining the very moment of the Colonel’s passing from the living to the dead is creepy and full of symbolic meaning as he opens
“one eye only. It glared at them a moment and then . . . went out.”
If the Colonel is the symbol of the patriarchy writ large, then the symbolism of the specific patriarchal hold over the daughters of the colonel is that one glaring eye which forever after seems to hang over the story like a spectral reminder.
The Colonel's Gold Watch
The Colonel’s gold watch is a precious timepiece with little actual utilitarian value since it has not worked for apparently some time. That the watch is gold, however, makes it worth something due to the insane grip that precious metal can have over people. So it is both worthless and valuable at once: a symbol of time for the two daughters who seem out-of-sync with time, making it both a precious and meaningless commodity.
The Corset Box
When discussing what to do with the gold watch—to surprise her brother Benny with it as an inheritance gift—Josephine briefly ponders over the idea of disguising it and surprising him by packaging it up in a cardboard for “Medium Women's 28. Extra Firm Busks.” The need for that corset has never arrived, so the cardboard of the box remains and sturdy. This is a very sly, very subtle of the dominance of the patriarchy. Because the Colonel has kept them so sheltered from men, the corset has remained unneeded. And though ultimately decides against using it for the surprise, it is noteworthy that even a box for such a distinctly feminine item of attire comes very, very close to being used instead to make a man happy.
The Eastbourne Boarder
Only once have the daughters briefly been given a shot at perhaps needing to use that corset for a romantic purpose, but even that ends badly for the sisters. The day before the man at the boarding house in Eastbourne is set to leave, he
“put a note on the jug of hot water outside their bedroom door…But the steam had made the writing too faint to read; they couldn't even make out to which of them it was addressed.”
Thus, the boarder becomes a symbolic for the doomed hopes and expectations of the daughters one day breaking free from the domination of their father. On a more subtle level, however, it also hints darkly of their ever enjoying true independence since marriage would merely be the lateral movement from one symbol of patriarchy—father—to another: husband.
