In Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon, the theme of flowers is significant for the female characters. Ruth Dead identifies herself as “small’ like flowers and her daughters, Lena and Corinthians identify with artificial rose petals. Many people assume that flowers are beautiful, delicate and need love and care in order to grow. In the novel, these characteristics of flowers are used to identify gender norms for women because flowers represent femininity. Morrison uses flowers to symbolize the oppression experienced by the female characters, Ruth, Lena, and Corinthians, three women who live in a male dominant household. However, Corinthians and Lena stop making velvet roses because they feel depressed and no longer want to feel oppressed
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Flowers in the context of the watermark represent Ruth’s life in her home. Her life is dull because her family lacks familial love. Ruth also is deprived of sexual love, but she still clings on to Macon, her husband. Flowers don’t have the capability to leave, so they are patient and still, and wait for love and care in order to grow. The flower shows that Ruth is complacent and is using her motherly right to force herself live in a household where she is unhappy and deprived of many rights, showing that women are weak when it comes to independence over …show more content…
When she had to choose between Porter, her secret lover, and continuing her life making roses she chose Porter, “For if Porter did not turn his head and lean toward the door to open it for her, Corinthians believed she would surely die… the only thing that could protect her from a smothering death of dry roses”(198-199). Corinthians doesn’t want to continue making artificial roses as a daily routine in her life. Since artificial roses symbolize an artificial life, “dry roses” symbolize a life where there is no more hope left and death occurs. Corinthians doesn’t want to live her life, as a “dry rose” where she lives a life where she isn’t
Flowers in the context of the watermark represent Ruth’s life in her home. Her life is dull because her family lacks familial love. Ruth also is deprived of sexual love, but she still clings on to Macon, her husband. Flowers don’t have the capability to leave, so they are patient and still, and wait for love and care in order to grow. The flower shows that Ruth is complacent and is using her motherly right to force herself live in a household where she is unhappy and deprived of many rights, showing that women are weak when it comes to independence over …show more content…
When she had to choose between Porter, her secret lover, and continuing her life making roses she chose Porter, “For if Porter did not turn his head and lean toward the door to open it for her, Corinthians believed she would surely die… the only thing that could protect her from a smothering death of dry roses”(198-199). Corinthians doesn’t want to continue making artificial roses as a daily routine in her life. Since artificial roses symbolize an artificial life, “dry roses” symbolize a life where there is no more hope left and death occurs. Corinthians doesn’t want to live her life, as a “dry rose” where she lives a life where she isn’t