It’s interesting how even before the story begins, the narrator makes the reader start to question whether plants really do have a “will of their own or their own consciousness.” Then the tale goes on to show how a rose raped a woman sleeping nearby and she then had a daughter. It’s almost a religious tale. The woman is like the Virgin Mary; the rose like God; and the daughter like Jesus. Later in the tale, the daughter’s new husband even comments on how his wife must be a very pious woman as she prays by herself each night.
Something that I found strange was how after Dr. Floris Rosenberger discovers that his wife turns into a rosebush each night; he is not surprised or angry. Once she transforms back into herself and dies from being thrown off the balcony, he doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction. He rushes to her mother to make sure she will confirm his story, but other than that there are no signs of sadness or guilt.
Also, the mother and Dr. Rosenberger are taken to an asylum, which suggests that this tale takes place in a world where magic is possible, but not believed or widely known. The tale ends questioning if they were telling the truth or not. This is similar to “Ekbert the Blond,” in that the reader does not know for certain whether what occurred in the tale actually happened or if the characters in the tale were insane.
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I really liked how you drew a parallel btwn The Vegetational Fatherhood" and “Ekbert the Blond". and i really liked how you compared the mother, the rose and the daughter to the Virgin Mary, God, and Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI actually think that since they're taken to an asylum, they live in a world that is conducted by reason instead of magic; magic, in this case, is the less rational explanation. I don't mean to sound like Scully here, but the whole story sounds like a case of cold feet for both pregnancy and marriage.
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