Odour Of Chrysanthemums, D H Lawrence (SS)

Question 1

Exposition

“she stood insignificantly trapped between the jolting black waggons and the hedge”

Answer 1

A01
Elizabeth hates her squalid fragile existence in a small mining town where her husband is endangered everyday and she feels powerless in their loveless marriage

A02
imagery of imprisonment “trapped” suggests Elizabeth feels penned in by her limited options as a woman as she has to continue to stay by her husband for his provision of food and a home to stay in
the fractured preposition “ between” highlights her changing emotions and her hatred for the options life has given her she has to live “between” the business and the hedge but also “between” being happy and being provided for.

A03
Lawrence’s critique of the damaging impacts that the mining industry had on both the environment and its community

Question 2

Mid-point

the chrysanthemums were
“pink” “when I married”
“brown” when Walter is brought home drunk
then give off a “cold,deathly smell” when Walter is dead

Answer 2

A01
the flower are a motif for the fragility of life and love

A02
**the floral conceit **could represent the love between Elizabeth and her husband and the wilting of the Chrysanthemums is symbolic of their decaying love as her husband finds solace in alcohol and the local pub.
the grim adjective “deathly” highlights how distant their relationship has become, she is repulsed by the smell of the flower that once symbolised their new flourishing love

A03
Lawrence’s own father “made the village pub his own” and as he also grew up in a mining background Lawrence plays on the devastating effects the death of the main money earner as well as the effects of alcohol can have on love, family and marriage.

Question 3

Denouement

“A terrible dread gripped her all the while: that he could be so heavy and utterly inert, unresponsive, apart.”

Answer 3

A01
The theme of death is highlighted as she grapples with her own feelings of grief and worry.

A02
**emotive noun phrase “terrible dread” **shows Elizabeth is now thinking of the difficulty she will have with her husband no lobger around to provide food and shelter for her and the children as a newly single mother.
**triplet of adjectives **conveying separation “inert, unresponsive, apart.” connotes a more sorrowful tone as Elizabeth mourns for the lost relationship and what could have been had they worked things out.

A03
The finality of death and how it can creep up on you striking at unexpected times but also constantly look over your shoulder.