How does D.H Lawrence present family relationships in the story Odour of Chrysanthemums?
Post your most interesting ideas/thoughts about the relationships that are presented in the story. As always, use evidence to support your ideas and attempt to make your interpretations original.
The relationship between Elizabeth and the husband at first seems to be quite "bitter". The repetition of the word "bitter" may suggest that Elizabeth has become sour as a person, this has been caused by being in a relationship with a man we assumes she does not love. This is similar to D.H Lawrence's own childhood experiences, as his mother had an unhappy marriage with an illiterate coal miner. D.H Lawrence sympathized with his mother as does the narrator in Odour of Chrysanthemums. The father is presented as an illiterate drunk, as he regularly makes a stop at the local pub before coming to his own home for dinner. This makes the reader feel sympathetic towards Elizabeth and or the children. Her rage and annoyance by this is presented through the "sinking", "dark red" fire, this image is metaphoric for the relationship between Elizabeth and the father. The verb "sinking" suggest the relationship has become submerged and suffocated, and the "dark red" light suggest the anger that has been building up ready to unleash on her husband when he walks in, but he never does.
ReplyDeleteThe writer D.H Lawrence presents the relationship between between Elizabeth Bates and her husband as dysfunctional in the short story: "Odour of Chrysanthemums". This relationship is perceived to be "bitter" and "cold". Both theses adjectives show how the relationship is bad and it is hurtful. The fact that Elizabeth uses the adjective: "Scandalous" to show how dishonourable she thinks her husband is shows how she believes that he is committing a crime. Therefore, this emphasises how she is fed up with her husband. Additionally, the simile: "like a log" suggests how she thinks that her husband is useless. The noun: "log" associates with stillness and it shows no use. Also, the fact that their relationship "sinking" shows how bad the bond is between the both of them. The verb "sinking" emphasises how tired Elizebeth is getting. It is as is she is losing hope for this relationship. When your "sinking", you do not have the strength to get back up. Therefore, it could be metaphoric for how she feels that this relationship is hard to fight for.
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DeleteAs a child D.H Lawrence grew up in Nottinghamshire with his mother and father, his father was an illiterate coalminer and to the mothers dismay, caused an unhappy relationship. This backstory from his childhood may of influenced the way family relationships are presented in "Odour of Chrysanthemums". This is proven by the quote "As she dropped piece after piece of coal on the red fire" This quote shows how the mother is trying to sustain the relationship and is struggling to do so. The words "red" and "fire" could represent her feelings because red is the connotation of anger and shows how she is getting angrier and angrier. This shows how the relationship is unstable due to her struggling to keep it alive. More evidence showing that the relationship is braking down is in the quote "Past his very door he goes to get a public house, and here I sit with his dinner waiting for him". This displays how the mother was expecting the father to be with her but instead he has gone to the local pub. This shows that the father is unreliable and uncaring for the family, further proving the instability.
DeleteLawrence also compares the miners to shadows as shown in the quote "like shadows". Shadows are shapes that appear and disappear, not only that but they are the connotation of oppressiveness and sadness which could represent their relationship. When you are in the dark about something you are unaware about something, in the story it is shown that they are in the dark almost constantly "total darkness". This could represent how they are in the dark about what the father is doing and are currently in a state of sadness while doing so.
(Sorry about posting and deleting twice)
The relationship between Elizabeth and her husband is very "cold" and hurtful. Elizabeth Bates feels disappointed and betrayed in waiting for him like a "fool"; "and this is what I came here for, to this dirty hole, rats and all for him to slink past his very door". Both the verb "fool" and the adjective "cold" demonstrates to the reader how Elizabeth fells unwanted and deceived, she feels as if she took a wrong turn in her life, as if marrying him was a bad idea. "and this is what I came here for" this quote suggest how in the past she must of had a better life than this and regrets leaving everything behind for the sake of him, this could show how before she loved him and now she is questioning herself weather he loved her as much as she loved him. This makes her abandon any love that she had for him that may have once existed.
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ReplyDelete"Odour Of Chrysanthemums", written by D.H Lawrence presents the relationship between a Wife(Elizabeth Bates) and her husband as something which is turbulent and challenging for her. "It was chrysanthemums when I married him, and chrysanthemums when you were born,the first time they ever brought him home drunk, he’d got brown chrysanthemums in his button-hole”. Regardless how dysfunctional their relationship is the "chrysanthemum" is symbolic for the good and the bad in their relationship. The Chrysanthemum also symbolizes the main events in her life were she was content and serene, regardless how unreliable her husband is there is still that sense of love and mutual caring she gives him, this is heightened by the incentive of the "Chrysanthemum". Furthermore Elizabeth bitterly says to her children that he “can lie on the floor” when he comes home and that he’ll be “like a log". This suggests that he is completely devoid of emotion or any physical warmth or feelings, The noun "log" is related to actions of stillness and is the remains of a tree which has been cut down and is essentially perceived as an dead object similar to the husband when intoxicated by alcohol. Throughout the short story Elizabeth is constantly seen feeling suffocated in the relationship "A large bony vine clutched at the house, as if to claw down the tiled roof". The metaphor heightens how suffocated and restricted she feels the representation of the house reflects their relationship as something which is negative and cold. The strong verb "clutched" and noun "claw" suggest that she almost feels held back and restrictive as she dosent have the freedom to do what she wants as she feels as if she is obliged to fulfill the shoes of the perfect wife and mother. These feelings eventually make her doubt the relationship and feels as if the love between the two is "sinking" as she has now lost hope and has allowed the desolate house full of anger and despair to "claw" her in to a whirl of sadness.
ReplyDeleteD.H Lawrence presents Elizabeth, the central character of odour of chrysanthemums, as a mum involved in an unhappy relationship to an illiterate coal miner. Lawrence's Childhood also involved parents with similar paths, This is where the decision of these characters traits origin from.
ReplyDeleteThe story begins describing a 'small locomotive' belonging to Elizabeth's Dad. The reason the mention of a train is included in odour of chrysanthemums is to represent the mechanical love belonging to Elizabeth and Walter Bates, and that the relationship is forced due to the existence of their children.
Throughout the story, evidence of the unhappy marriage is presented as suffocating. "a large bony vine clutched at the house, as if to claw the tiled roof" This is metaphoric for Elizabeth feeling enclosed. The use of the verb 'clutched' represents the hold on Elizabeth and lack of freedom.
Elizabeth's relationship towards her son is meagre, as every meeting with her son includes her harsh, disapproving tone. "john!" and "your as bad as your father if its a bit dusk" her voluntary distance could be due to his resemblance to his father, whom Elizabeth also disapproves of.
After Elizabeth found out about Walters death, her first thoughts were how she would cope without his income. "if he was killed - would she be able to manage on the little pension" proving her only emotions would be as a result of her own suffering through lack of financial help, not due to her lost love.
D.H Lawrence presents Elizabeth, the central character of odour of chrysanthemums, as a mum involved in an unhappy relationship to an illiterate coal miner. Lawrence's Childhood also involved parents with similar paths, This is where the decision of these characters traits origin from.
ReplyDeleteThe story begins describing a 'small locomotive' belonging to Elizabeth's Dad. The reason the mention of a train is included in odour of chrysanthemums is to represent the mechanical love belonging to Elizabeth and Walter Bates, and that the relationship is forced due to the existence of their children.
Throughout the story, evidence of the unhappy marriage is presented as suffocating. "a large bony vine clutched at the house, as if to claw the tiled roof" This is metaphoric for Elizabeth feeling enclosed. The use of the verb 'clutched' represents the hold on Elizabeth and lack of freedom.
Elizabeth's relationship towards her son is meagre, as every meeting with her son includes her harsh, disapproving tone. "john!" and "your as bad as your father if its a bit dusk" her voluntary distance could be due to his resemblance to his father, whom Elizabeth also disapproves of.
After Elizabeth found out about Walters death, her first thoughts were how she would cope without his income. "if he was killed - would she be able to manage on the little pension" proving her only emotions would be as a result of her own suffering through lack of financial help, not due to her lost love.
In the story of odour of chrysanthemums by D.H Lawrence the family relationships are portrayed negatively with mistrust and regret,mainly between the mum and dad who are only together at the start because of the kids. A quote to support this will be "Past his very door he goes to get to a public house, and here i sit with his dinner waiting" this shows how she thinks that her husband will be at the pub which shows mistrust as she cant trust him to come straight home after work he has to go somewhere else and enjoy himself, this could mean that there is something going on at home like an argument as it presents that he is avoiding home. It also shows how they have no faith in each other. A quote to show how the relationship has regret in it is "I must wash him", this quote shows how she wants a clean slate with her husband which is how she regrets her relationship with him. It could also suggest that she is embarrassed of her husband and the way he looks so wants to clean him.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story 'Odour of Chrysanthemums', DH Lawrence presents the idea of family as miserable and sorrowful, especially when he talks about the relationship between the Elizabeth Bates and her husband.
ReplyDeleteIn line 20 of the story it says,"A large bony vine clutched at the house." This is line is a metaphor for the relationship and Lawrence is saying that the relationship is suffocating. The concept of suffocation in the story is important because it is also how the Elizabeth's husband dies in the story. This indicates that the relationship is dying because of attitude of the husband.
In the story it mentions that there were chrysanthemums were present the first time Elizabeth and her husband met, at their wedding and the first time her husband came home drunk and carried by his friends, he had a chrysanthemums in his button hole.In line 45 it says,"As they went slowly towards the house he tore at the ragged wisps of chrysanthemums and dropped the petals in handfuls along the path." This quote symbolises Elizabeth's mixed feelings for her husband.
The mother is also very independent and this because her husband is a liability. its says,"She was a tall woman of imperious mien, handsome, with definite black eyebrows." The word 'handsome is normally used to describe men. this shows that Elizabeth has to play 2 roles in the family, mother and father because the father is normally at the pub and does not take responsibility.
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ReplyDeleteFamily relations between the mother and her children was brittle before the fathers death. Her children were "united in fear of their mother's wrath". The use of the adjective "united" suggests how the "fear of their mother" brings them together. This shows how the kids relationship with the mother is unstable but because of this their relationships together have strengthened.
ReplyDeleteBefore her children spoke there was a repetition of the adverb "complainingly" suggesting she sees them as a burden and a nuisance. Furthermore D.H Lawrence reinforced this by stating "Good gracious! cried the mother irritably, you're as bad as your father". This can also imply how she sees her son as a embodiment of her husband. With the use of the verb "cried" and adverb "irritably" emphasizes how much anger she has towards the father that she is releasing onto the kids. Furthermore this shows how the mothers relationship between her children is ruined by her anger she has towards her husband.
However this changes after her husbands death. She answered them "softly" and "bent down and kissed the children". There were a lack of "!" when talking to children as well which shows how she has become more caring and loving. Therefore strengthening her relationship with her children. Although this only happens after the husbands death, this suggests how she never really loved him. Furthermore D.H Lawrence reinforces this by stating "Elizabeth's thoughts were busy elsewhere. if he was killed-would she be able to manage on the little pension and what she could earn?". Her instant thought was finance and if she would be able to fund herself which shows the lack of love in the relationship. Therefore showing how her relationship with her husband was insignificant and both of them weren't committed to one another.
In the story 'Odour of Chrysanthemums' D.H Lawrence presents the family relationship as bitter and distant, especially the fathers and the mothers(Elizabeth) relationship.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that she has to wait for her husband to come back from work everyday had effected her; "Her mother chid her for coming late from school, and said she would have to keep her at home the dark winter days", this further heightens how she doesn't want her husbands bad habits to fall upon their children and for her life not to be annoyingly repetitive.
Further along the story it shows us how the mother is not truly in love with her husband, she feels as if he doesn't give enough effort for anything whereas she's going above and beyond for their relationship; "What a fool I've been, What a fool! And this is what I came here for", this quotation proves her regret on their marriage, and how she perhaps left her good life in the past for him (or even left everything for him), this further emphasises how any love she had towards him has been fully abandoned and has made her bitter, the repetition of the word 'fool' represents how she feels betrayed and useless.
Overall this shows us how D.H Lawrence portrayed his past into this story, the main point being the fact that his mother struggled in her unhappy marriage and his father was a coal miner as well as a heavy drinker both of his parents mirror the mother and father in this story which shows maybe how this affected Lawrence
D.H Lawrence presents family relationships in the story of Odour of Chrysantheums as a "bitter" and a negative thing. This is shown when D.H Lawrence keeps repeating the word "bitter through out the short story. The reason this word has been repeated is because the mother has become a bitter and sour person because she is in a relationship which has no trust and no love towards each other.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between the mother and the father is also portrayed as a lonely and isolated thing. This is due to the fact that the Elizabeth (mother ) is at home looking after the children while Her husband is at the pub "he goes to the public house,and her I sit with his dinner waiting"this makes the reader feel sympathetic towards Elizabeth because it is like her husband has just forgotten about her. This shows that the relationship between the two is isolated because Elizabeth is at home assuming her husband has gone to the "public house" because they do not communicate with one another. This also shows that the isolation as lead to trust issues with Elizabeth because her first thought she has is that he is at the pub. Her anger is portrayed when D.H Lawrence says the "sinking ","red fire". The reason he uses the word "sinking" is because it suggests that the relationship is being suffocated and there is no light because as you sink it becomes darker and darker which could show that the future between the two of them is dark and a lonely thing. The word red also indicates how Elizabeth is feeling inside and that there is a build up of anger within her the longer it takes for husband to come home.
in 'Odour of Chrysanthemums', the author describes Elizabeth as "bitter", and the repetition of "bitter" could suggest Elizabeth is a sour lady and not many people like her, which is the result of being in a relationship with someone she doesn't love. the relationship is also described as "cold" which can show the fact that the relationship is hurtful. the family relationship is presented with negativity, mistrust and regret. "past his very door he goes to the public house, and here I sit with his dinner waiting". this shows that Elizabeth doesn't trust the husband to come straight home after work, she thinks he just goes to the public house everyday. the fact that he feels the need to go somewhere else to have fun, away from home, without any family members suggests to me that something could be going on at home which makes him want to stay away from home as much as he can
ReplyDeleteIn the short story 'Odour if chrysanthemums ' by D.H Lawrence the family relationship between the Father and Mother, Walter and Elizabeth Bates is portrayed as difficult and mistrusting. The relationship between the two is similar to the relationship of Lawrence's parents who also had a difficult marriage. A quote to support this is "it was Chrysanthemums when I married him", the word chrysanthemums is symbolic for the goods and bads in their relationship. It also shows the joys Elizabeth felt when she first married, further on in the paragraph it states "the first time they brought him home drunk." In this line it represents the sadness that has developed over time almost representing the plot later on in the story.
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ReplyDeleteIn the short story'odour of chrysanthemums' the story presents the hardships of a relationship between a man and his wife called Elizabeth Bates. The story presents 'Elizabeth' continuously waiting for her husband who supposedly works as a miner which also links to the relationship of Lawrence's father whom was an illiterate coal whom did not have a good marriage with his wife. The title presents the idea of family relationships 'chrysanthemums' the description of chrysanthemums is symbolised as a sign of good 'it was chrysanthemums when I married him' this shows although the short story presents the frustration Elizabeth feels in her marriage it implies that there was a source of happiness in their marriage. Also family relationships is presented in how Elizabeth talks about the father as he is presented as a bad role model to their children'you're as bad as your father if it's a bit dusk'.This presents how dysfunctional their marriage is as Elizabeth is not happy with her marriage and the term father does need seem as a role model for their two children as she shows portrays he immense feelings of regret and hatred towards her marriage and this can also e shows by the interpretation of how her husband Walter has died which was suffocation. The word suffocation implies how Elizabeth feels in her marriage as she is the one who takes care of the family and how this marriage has trapped her of doing continuous jobs as providing for her kids, food and also continuously waiting for her husband.
ReplyDeleteIn 'odour of chrysanthemums the short story presents a variety of difficulties in family relationships. This story is about a woman named Elizabeth Bates who lives with her two children and another on the way. The father , Walter is late for dinner and thought to be in a pub. However,she thought wrong he has actually been in an accident in the mines where he works and has died. This short story presents problems in trust by the title 'Chrysanthemums' shows a good marriage thinking they know each other very well. Although, by the word 'odour' it shows that Elizabeth is the odour of the family which symbolic to people having hatred towards her. It also suggests the nature of family problems.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, The wife feels isolated as she did before she judged the book by its cover 'father'. In the text it says "the utter isolation of the human soul" By the word "utter" it suggests like her emotions are getting to her and it is making her thinking bad of herself taking over her soul. Despite the fact Elizabeth presents there father in a neglectful way. "you're as bad as your father if it's a bit dusk" This quote shows that her bad thoughts of her husband contracts with Walters father. " Like father like son".
by suhaila
In the story 'Odour of Chrysanthemums', D.H Lawrence presents the relationship between Elizabeth and her husband distant. Her and her husband have very different views on marriage and Elizabeth realises that there is no love in their relationship. In the story Elizabeth waits for her husband to return from the pub as he tends to go there before coming home.After waiting several hours for him to return, her anger builds up as she finds it a sign of disrespect, she says 'Never mind. They'll bring him when he does come - like a log'. The use of a simile shows that she thinks of her husband as useless and not much use. Additionally when she finds out that her husband is dead her thoughts are 'would she be able to manage on the little pension and what she could earn''how tiresome he would be to nurse'.This shows the lack of love and how dysfunctional their marriage is as she is more concerned as to how she is going to financially take care of things and how much stress he would have caused the nurses.
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ReplyDeleteD.H Lawrence presents a 'bitter' relationship between the 'wife' Elizabeth and 'husband' Walter. It is clear that Walter is the cause of Elizabeth's ''bitterly' remarks, repeatedly waiting for her husband to return home after work when knowingly he is and rather would prefer to sit at the local pub. The title 'Odour of Chrysanthemums' represnts their marriage and how after many years of loving and nurturing can turn into a 'drunken mess'. When Walter and Elizabeth got married; the flowers 'chrysanthemums' where brought home same when their child was born however the day when Walter strolled in home drunk them same flowers where brought to the door step. Elizabeth's fustraion and anger is shown throughout the poem even towards her children. Toward the end of the story when Walter dies and is brought home, Elizebeth reflects on her life and realizes that her marriage was a failure. Feeling ashamed, not really seeing her husband also maybe being the reason he never wanted to return home after home and not letting him be himself.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story 'odour of chrysanthemums' the author D.H.Lawrence presents family relationship between Elizabeth Bates and her son. It says, "Are you at the brook?" She asked sternly'. The adverb 'sternly' shows that the mother is a very strict lady and the writer also shows the reader that her son is afraid of the mother, it says 'The boy did not move or answer'. This clearly shows that the boy is scared to speak back to his mother. The writer presents that the relationship between her and her children's are not too good. It says, "Good gracious!" cried the mother irritably, "you're as bad as your father if it's a bit dusk!". The writer is showing that Elizabeth Bates still remembers her husband but at the same time it makes her angry when her children's remind her of her husband. The author presents difficulties in their family relationship. The writer included metaphor, it says, 'A large bony vine clutched at the house, as into claw down the tiled roof'. This shows that the relationship in the family is suffocating and it shows the situation of the relationship between the family. D.H.Lawrence shows the distance between Elizabeth and Walter her husband. It says, 'her smooth black hair was parted exactly'. This quote refers to how she is not with her husband and shows that she is parted with her husband.
ReplyDeleteBy Rkshana
In Odour of Chrysanthemums the author presents the family as unstable as Elizabeth is presented as a strong independent woman "she was a tall woman of imperious mien, handsome, with definite black eyebrows." the word "handsome" shows she is strong as "handsome" and "strong" are both usually generalised
ReplyDeletewith men. this can also show with the near absence of Elizabeth's husband she has to take the roles of both a mother and a father with her kids. As well as that towards the end of the story Elizabeth feels guilt as she realises that her deceased husband wasn't the only problem in their relationship this also shows she had a lack of appreciation for him and his love for her when he was alive, you can also see this when she says "it was chrysanthemums when I married him, and chrysanthemums when you were born..." this shows she doesn't think he is trying to show his love for her enough because she is moaning even though he is only trying to remind her of those times.
In the short story "Odour of Chrysanthemums" the family relationships sre presented as not as well of as most familys, a quote that tells me this is when Elizebeth Bates says "you're as bad as your father if its a bit dusk!" Elizabeth uses negative words such as "bad" to compare her child to his father, thisb tells me that the mother and the fathers realtionship is not as stable as it seems.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote which tells me this is when Elizebeth says "it is scandalous thing as a man cant even come in to his dinner" this shows she is questioning his man hood in a way, so again it is representing the relationship between the mother and father is quite heated. She also goes on to compare the father to a log to his own child, this could be forshadowing that the father is going to be dead and lifless, similar to a log.