Flower Imageryor
A Rose By Any Other Name
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Flower Imagery
Page created on April 27, 1999.
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Within the text of The Great Gatsby, two flowers in particular are prominently mentioned: the rose and the orchid. Since The Great Gatsby is a novel of literary merit, the flowers, of course, have a deeper symbolic meaning than simply being flowers.
Orchid
The orchid has long represented fertility and refinement. In the Asian tile game Mah Jongg, it not only symbolizes refinement but also is a symbol of the rare and precious. A woman at one of Gatsby's parties, known only as a famous actress, is described as "a scarcely human orchid of a woman" (111). Even Daisy and Tom agree on some indefinable level that this woman is beyond them. She is one of the rare guests at the party worth talking to, a refined beauty.
Rose
The rose possesses a long-standing tradition of representing true love. In Ancient Greece, roses were dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. On Valentine's Day, roses sell out quickly, making it difficult to purchase a beautiful red rose for one's sweetie. The red rose especially has a deeper meaning of true love. After the debacle where Tom confronts Gatsby and Daisy returns to her husband, Gatsby returns to his home to wait and hope for a message from Daisy. Narrating, Nick speculates that Gatsby knows the message will never come; that he "found what a grotesque thing a rose is" (169). He knew his love, his rose, his Daisy is gone and dead and has been for a long time.
Related Gatsby topics:
Colors
Symbolism
Curator: Pamela Sawyer
Rose images from http://www.ggrafx.com/~pambytes/tiles/bold1.html
Mah Jongg Orchid tile and orchid info from http://www.mahjongg.com/flowers.htm
Other orchid from http://www.orchidworks.com/
Animated flower from http://www.fg-a.com/gifs.html
Rose info from http://www.goldenroseflorist.com/rose.html