Repeated Roses

One of the most recognized symbols of love is the rose. The romance that is associated with the rose became widely known during the Victorian era. In a society that frowned upon open openly expressing feelings, floral arrangements and bouquets were sent as coded messages. Different variations in color (for the same types of flower) carry different meanings . Yellow roses represent joy and friendship, peach is for modesty, pink is for grace,  and red  (of course) confers love and respect. The leaves on a rose show hope, and a rose without thrones convey love at first sight.

With Homecoming approaching many people use flowers, especially roses, to ask each other out. Even though few young people today know about/use the language of flowers, it  has remained in use throughout literature, art and music. Shakespeare used the hidden meanings of flowers throughout his plays (Ophelia, Hamlet, etc.). A more recent novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh was written with floriography as a major theme.  

In class we are reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and one item that has been repeatedly seen is a red rosebush. The roses are beautiful and contrast the gloomy setting of the book. They have already been related to Hester and Pearl, and I expect that I will be seeing them again during my reading.