Explain the expression "but no one has my rose".
Although there are many roses in the world, her rose is unique. There is no other rose like it because it represents a moment of friendship between one woman and another.
She has owned the rose for twelve years.
Explain the following expressions taken from the story:
- broke into dimples;
- I was vital;
- I despised them.
Dimples, says the Oxford English Dictionary, are small hollows or dents in the flesh, especially in the cheeks or chin. Although all girls may have dimples, they are common in plumper girls. The girl described is a fleshy person so that, when she smiles, these dimples appeared in several places on her face.
To be vital means to be full of life. In this case, the younger girl was still a teenager and full of life and energy.
To despise someone means to look down on them, to hold them in contempt. The author hated the way the men worshipped the girl just because she was the only one in the village.
Where did the dimpled girl go after she had married?
The dimpled woman went to America.
Explain the meaning of "she reigned alone".
A queen reigns. The dimpled girl, being the only young girl in the village, becomes the centre of attraction to all the men. She becomes their queen and, like a queen, reigns alone because there is no other queen, i.e. there is no other pretty girl in the village.
What is the English word for "stoep"?
"Stoep" means verandah or porch.
How did the men act towards any man who showed the "other" woman any attention?
The men became highly jealous of each other, and intensely disliked any other man who gained the girl's attention or affections.
Why did the men turn to worshipping the new woman who came to the town?
The author did not think she was as pretty as the other girl. She was more attractive simply because she was new in the village. She was also younger and therefore more full of life.
How did she react to this attention?
The author did not think she was as pretty as the other girl. She was more attractive simply because she was new in the village. She was also younger and therefore more full of life.
She liked the men's attention because it made her feel important. At the same time, she hated it.
Why did the writer appear to despise men?
She despised them because they showed no backbone. They were all too busy competing with each other for the affections of a pretty girl. They were not attracted to the inner beauty of the girl but purely to shallow outward beauty. She felt that there was something demeaning in the way in which they behaved.
What does the narrator mean when she says that "the mother heart had not swelled in me yet"?
The author sees the grown woman as the mother. A mother has love for her children, looks after them, nurtures them. The heart of the grown woman is therefore one that is swollen in love for all people. On the other hand, the author describes herself as a teenage girl who is young and immature, who has not yet entered this condition of motherly love. Her mother heart has therefore not yet swelled with motherly love and affection.
What is the meaning of "I was too small to be tender"?
The author sees womanhood as having a special meaning, when the woman's heart is swollen in love for all creatures. The girl at this stage is still a teenager, whose heart is still young, who hasn't yet matured into knowing the purpose of her life. She was therefore too small to be tender, too young for her heart to have become full.
The writer says that "men were curious creatures, who liked me, I could never tell why." Why did men like her?
The author did not think she was as pretty as the other girl. She was more attractive simply because she was new in the village. She was also younger and therefore more full of life.
Eventually the whole town held a party in the narrator's honour.
- Why was the party held?
- Why did flowers become an issue for the party?
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Why is it important that the "other girl" is so very white: her dress that was "pure white", her "great white arms and shoulders", the "white rose" fastened at her breast?
- Why, on the other hand, would the narrator have been dressed totally in black
The girl was to leave the village and someone arranged a farewell party in her honour.
The party was being held in winter and so there were no flowers growing, except for a few dahlias which cannot be used as a decoration on a dress. The only rose available had already been promised to the other girl. The younger girl therefore had no rose to pin to her dress and would appear as less attractive and desirable.
Whiteness is often presented as an image of purity. Despite the older girl's being sought after by men, the author makes a point of pointing to the fact that she is still pure, still a virgin. Her dress is white, her skin is white, the rose at her breast is white. Everything about the girl is innocent, pure, virginal.
Black is the symbol of death. The younger girl is about to leave the village where she was very happy. Her leaving is her symbolic death. Her clothes therefore are all black. She is dressed for mourning.
How did it come about that the two girls finally spoke to each other?
The younger girl, by leaving the village, is no longer a threat to the older girl. The older girl responds by pinning her white rose to her breast.
Is there any significance in the graphic image of the other girl pinning her white rose to the narrator's breast?
If whiteness is a symbol of purity, is there any significance in the older girl's removing her white rose and handing it onto the younger girl? It is mentioned, for instance, that the older girl then married. Does the passing on of the rose represent the passing on of her purity?
Where did the other girl eventually go?
The older girl eventually married and went to America.
The story concludes with the words:
"When my faith in woman grows dim, and it seems that for want of love and magnanimity she can play no part in any future heaven; then the scent of that small withered thing comes back - spring cannot fail us."
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Why does the narrator use "woman" and not "women"?
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What does the narrator mean when she says that "spring cannot fail us"?
The author is not interested in women as such, but rather in womanhood. She therefore does not speak of "women" but of "woman". "Woman" means the female as a species.
The author means that there is an eternal cycle. Winter will always be followed by spring. It will always happen. After a time of sorrow, there will always be joy. Spring represents everything vibrant in life, it represents a time of new life, a fresh beginning. It will always happen, says the author.
