Odour of Chrysanthemums - D. H. Lawrence Flashcards
‘A woman drew back into the hedge’
Metaphor: nature offers protection
‘She stood insignificantly trapped between jolting black wagons and the hedge.’
Adverb: ‘insignificantly’. Shows the main focus of the town is business/coal and nature.
‘A large bony vine clutched at the house as if to claw it down.’
Characterises nature as possessive and powerful, overrunning houses. ‘Bony’ malnourished: sinister tone. House is captive.
‘Pit bank loomed up beyond the pond.’
Personifies pit bank: industry such a vital figure in the town’s people lives, same importance as a person.
‘Flames like red sores licking it’s ashy sides.’
Simile and personification. Painting a scene of work/industry to the reader.
‘Miners … passed like shadows diverging home’
Similie: workers so common within the town, blend in like a shadow. Adds slight mystery/tension.
‘She was a tall woman of imperious mien, handsome’
Adjective: imperious (impressive). Characterizes her as unusual, masculine, almost unapproachable.
‘Her smooth black hair was parted exactly.’
The character is shown to be meticulous over her looks.
‘Her face was calm and set.’
The character is in control of her emotions and physical manner.
‘It was chrysanthemums when I married him, and chrysanthemums when you were born and the first time they ever brought him home drunk he’d got brown chrysanthemums in his button-hole.’
Chrysanthemum motif throughout the text, added to here. The flowers are present at all the key events in her life.
‘She said, more gently.’
The character has the ability to adapt.
‘She silenced herself.’
Displaying to reader her great emotional control, and control of her physical manner.
‘Her anger wearied itself, lay down to rest, opening it’s eyes from time to time and steadily watching, it’s ears raised to listen.’
Personifies anger to stress to the reader the size of it.
‘Her heart burst with anger at their father.’
Metaphor/hyperbole: exaggerating to reader stress
Repetition of ‘trouble’ and ‘hope so’ in rambling speech made by Mrs Bates (senior). Unfinished sentence ‘I don’t know how it is…’
Unlike Elizabeth, Mrs Bates is not in control of her emotions or speech.
‘There was a cold deathly smell of Chrysanthemums in the room.’
Adding to motif of Chrysanthemums, present at key events. Contrast: flowers symbolise life/growing with ‘deathly’.
‘Elizabeth embraced the body of her husband … trying to get some connection. But she could not. She was driven away. He was impregnable.’
Theme of grief: the different effects it has upon people.
‘He was blonde, full-fleshed, with fine limbs. But he was dead.’
Unacceptance of death.
Contrast of the imagery: a healthy young man and death.
‘He was dead, her living flesh.’
Juxtaposition: their incompatibility.
‘White as milk he is, clear as a twelve month baby.’
Similes, showing purity and innocence (juxtaposed with the idea of death)
‘A great dread and weariness held her.’
Personification: exemplifying the size/relevance of the emotions.
Repetition of ‘peace’. ‘Peaceful as sleep’.
Acceptance, simile, showing the calm and tranquillity.
Repetition of ‘lamb’.
Signifies spring/innocence, metaphor (murdered in religious texts e.g Bible).
Semantic field of children/innocence.
Stress to the reader the underserving aspect of his death, his mother’s perspective upon him.
‘Life had left him apart and utterly alien to her.’
Metaphor: their incompatibility, moment of realisation that she didn’t truly know him.
‘She was grateful to death, which restored the truth.’
Moment of realisation/turning point, she didn’t truly know him.
‘They had met in the dark and fought in the dark.’
Metaphorical and literal for their relationship: unknowing of each other, truly.
‘The children belonged to life. This dead man had nothing to do with them.’
Life and death are personified, possessive.
‘She knew she submitted to life, which was her immediate master. But from death, her ultimate master, she winced with fear and shame.’
Personification of life and death: possessive and powerful, feared. Death takes superiority.
