Flower of horror

One, two, three, testing, testing. A bright red curtain behind, setting the scene. I take a breath. Most people will stare at me blankly when I say the word carnation. “Cloves you mean?” No, no I don’t. Carnation is a flower while cloves, on the other hand, is a spice, that comes from a tree called Syzygnum aromaticum. Its scientific name is Dianthus which means “godly flower” in Greek. The English name for the flower is derived from Latin "carnis" which means flesh and is said to be influenced by the flower’s most common colours which are red and pink.

The line between a fairy tale and reality lies at the end of a needle in a hay stack. Mentions of carnation appear in Roman Mythology with a tale of Diana, the goddess of hunting, who, returning from a hunt empty handed, met a shepherd playing a panpipe. She was convinced that his music scared away her pray and in a blind rage tore his eyes out. She later regretted her action and threw the still begging eyes on the ground, instantly, red carnations sprung from them as a symbol of the innocent blood spilt. It is possible, the the French name for this flower, l’œillet (l’œil means eye), is influenced by this story.

Time moves on but carnation’s roots are deep in the dark ground of history. In the Bible, pink carnation grew where the Virgin Mary shed her tears while watching Jesus carry the cross. Thus, they became a symbol of motherly love, which remains so until this day.

Perhaps my favourite story about carnations is one of how they appeared in France. 1270. The last Crusade is rampaging through Tunisia. At the same time, the plague has reached Northern Africa. Louis IX of France, familiar with some healing effects of plants and believing that for every poison nature creates, it must also create an antidote, uses grounded up carnation flowers to treat his soldiers that fell victim to the plague. Unfortunantly, the flower did not save the King himself when the caught the illness and died. In his good memory, the soldiers brought the flower to France as a tribute to their King. France seemed to take a liking in this flower, which soon became a favourite about royalty.

Ah, the guillotine, second favourite way to murder people publicly, only preceded by hanging and followed up closely by burning on the third place.

During the French revolution, supporters of the King would wear red carnations as they went to their death by the guillotine to manifest their loyalty. This has firmly established carnation as a revolutionary flower. Violence and carnations intertwined with one another in French history and the flower became known as carnation of horror (l’oeillet d'horreur). Centuries passed however, and its more gruesome appearances were forgotten with it’s use in the peaceful revolution of Portugal in 1974.

On a happier note, a random fact: Oscar Wilde wore a green carnation to a certain theatre performance, which the has been picked up by the homosexual society and turned into a kind of a symbol. Wilde himself never commented on the true reasons behind the flower.

Unsurprisingly, with all it’s dark appearances in European history, carnation has been chosen by Willa Cather to represent Paul’s temperament in “Paul’s Case”. I suggest you read this short story before you continue reading http://cather.unl.edu/ss006.html. Our experiences shape who we are, Freudian, cough, cough, then what have I experienced that caused my fascination with darkness? What has Paul experienced that drove him to suicide? This seems to be the ultimate, yet unanswered question of this short story. It is established from the start, that Paul is different. He is trouble, the story begins with him getting suspended from school. He, however, is not burdened by the fact and is in fact smiling. What interests all of us here in particular is the choice of the flower he is wearing. A red carnation. There is a number of reasons that might have caused this choice. First of all, the bright colour of the flower reflects Paul himself: an outcast, eccentric, uncontrollable. We see Paul’s unconventional behaviour throughout the story, from his suspension, through his fascination with theatre, to his eventual elopement and suicide, and red seems like a perfect representation of a teenager gone wild.

As to the carnation itself, there are speculations by critics such as Larry Rubin, that it is a hint at Paul’s homosexuality. Knowing about Oscar Wilde’s carnation, this doesn’t seem unlikely but I believe that this reading lacks evidence. In my opinion, Paul is sick. I see evidence for this not only in this pale, think figure and unnaturally bright eyes but also in his behaviour. Cather, at first, was studying to become a doctor but changed her mind during the studies and got a degree in English. This makes it probable that she was aware of psychological disorders and with the breakthroughs made in psychology in the beginning of the 19th century, it is no wonder she would write a story influenced by the science. Another clue that something is odd about Paul’s attitude, is in the title itself “A study of temperament”, as if he is a laboratory rat awaiting experiments. Yikes. A note for the curious: Freud published his famous case study of Dora later that same year. Of course, if I still haven't convinced you, hear my final argument - his suicide. I ask myself, would a healthy, happy teenager suddenly decide to kill himself? Doubt it. What I see is a kid severely depressed.

“Paul’s Case” is also exciting as it ends up being a sort of a WhoDunIt mystery; who drove the boy to suicide? It is never explained. This gives another dimension, making the reader feel like a detective with sparse number of clues. But let’s get back to flowers. They are present throughout the story from the “Cordelia Street” to the “gardens blooming under glass cases”. They can be seen as a ghost of a lavish life that Paul dreams of but is never quite able to achieve. The "glass case"expresses the desperation for a life he is forced to watch but cannot gain. Lastly, Paul realises, that flowers die. They are the looming tool of foreshadowing that follows him throughout the story which neither the reader nor himself notices until the very end. He even tries to bury the flower before his own end. So tragic, so sweet.

Curtain of history closes. Audience applauds. Carnation is waiting for act two.