Yup, I'm going to talk about flowers again. This time I was thinking about the flower that Griffith leaves for Charlotte. It looks to me like a snowdrop. It's in volume 9, right after their sex scene. Here's a pic of a snowdrop flower for comparison:
Charlotte wakes up to find Griffith gone, but he left her the charm she had given him, along with a snowdrop flower. So was there a reason Miura chose this certain flower to be the one Griffith leaves Charlotte?
I guess the simple answer would be that the setting seems to be early spring. The snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom, so it would have been one of the only flowers available at that time of year. It could be that this is the reason it's the flower to appear in the story. After learning more about the snowdrop, though, there are some things that lead me to think there might be more to this choice of flower than just that.
As I mentioned earlier, the snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom at the end of winter, and as such it is associated with hope for the coming of spring. They are plants adapted for frigid weather and are said to have a natural antifreeze that prevents them from being killed by the cold. It's also commonly thought that the snowdrop actually produces its own heat, causing the snow around it to melt. I find these meanings and qualities of the snowdrop tie in interestingly with what the king of Midland says in his speech to Griffith: “In this bloodstained, meaningless world...if there is one single ray of hope to be found ...it is...warmth. Only warmth covers and protects me from this world. You've taken the one flower that gives me that warmth and plucked it!”
Besides "hope", which fits well because Charlotte represents Griffith's hope of attaining his dream of becoming ruler of his own kingdom, another meaning for the snowdrop, according to the language of flowers (which is a way of communicating using flowers), is "consolation or a friend in adversity". Griffith is certainly in search of some kind of consolation, being devastated by Guts leaving, when he comes to see Charlotte that night. Charlotte is also in need of consolation, as she expresses to Griffith, she's felt very alone during all the sad and frightening events that have happened. Later, Charlotte proves herself to be a friend in adversity when she helps with Griffith's rescue and it could also be said that Griffith comes to Charlotte's aid when he rescues her from Ganishka, although he did have somewhat self-serving reasons for doing so since he wants to use Charlotte's status to be recognized as a legitimate king.
The snowdrop was considered to be an omen of sadness or death in some parts of the world, probably because the flowers could often be found growing in cemeteries. Some superstions held that it was bad luck to bring a snowdrop indoors. Through this we can see how causality used the snowdrop to bring Griffith to his bad fortune of being captured and imprisoned. ...or maybe that's stretching things just a bit!
Where I found my info:
http://www.leavesnbloom.com/2011/02/galanthus-nivalis-snowdrop-bulb.html
http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Botanic/NewsItem.aspx?p=27&ix=119
http://carolynsshadegardens.com/2011/02/09/are-snowdrops-thermogenic/
http://en.heilkraeuter.net/flower-essences/snowdrop-essence.htm
http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/language.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/snowdrops-in-fable-and-folklore.html
http://www.plant-lore.com/1224/snowdrop/
Charlotte wakes up to find Griffith gone, but he left her the charm she had given him, along with a snowdrop flower. So was there a reason Miura chose this certain flower to be the one Griffith leaves Charlotte?
I guess the simple answer would be that the setting seems to be early spring. The snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom, so it would have been one of the only flowers available at that time of year. It could be that this is the reason it's the flower to appear in the story. After learning more about the snowdrop, though, there are some things that lead me to think there might be more to this choice of flower than just that.
As I mentioned earlier, the snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom at the end of winter, and as such it is associated with hope for the coming of spring. They are plants adapted for frigid weather and are said to have a natural antifreeze that prevents them from being killed by the cold. It's also commonly thought that the snowdrop actually produces its own heat, causing the snow around it to melt. I find these meanings and qualities of the snowdrop tie in interestingly with what the king of Midland says in his speech to Griffith: “In this bloodstained, meaningless world...if there is one single ray of hope to be found ...it is...warmth. Only warmth covers and protects me from this world. You've taken the one flower that gives me that warmth and plucked it!”
Besides "hope", which fits well because Charlotte represents Griffith's hope of attaining his dream of becoming ruler of his own kingdom, another meaning for the snowdrop, according to the language of flowers (which is a way of communicating using flowers), is "consolation or a friend in adversity". Griffith is certainly in search of some kind of consolation, being devastated by Guts leaving, when he comes to see Charlotte that night. Charlotte is also in need of consolation, as she expresses to Griffith, she's felt very alone during all the sad and frightening events that have happened. Later, Charlotte proves herself to be a friend in adversity when she helps with Griffith's rescue and it could also be said that Griffith comes to Charlotte's aid when he rescues her from Ganishka, although he did have somewhat self-serving reasons for doing so since he wants to use Charlotte's status to be recognized as a legitimate king.
The snowdrop was considered to be an omen of sadness or death in some parts of the world, probably because the flowers could often be found growing in cemeteries. Some superstions held that it was bad luck to bring a snowdrop indoors. Through this we can see how causality used the snowdrop to bring Griffith to his bad fortune of being captured and imprisoned. ...or maybe that's stretching things just a bit!
Where I found my info:
http://www.leavesnbloom.com/2011/02/galanthus-nivalis-snowdrop-bulb.html
http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Botanic/NewsItem.aspx?p=27&ix=119
http://carolynsshadegardens.com/2011/02/09/are-snowdrops-thermogenic/
http://en.heilkraeuter.net/flower-essences/snowdrop-essence.htm
http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/language.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/snowdrops-in-fable-and-folklore.html
http://www.plant-lore.com/1224/snowdrop/