Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator, The Woman’s Rose by Olive

Schreiner story explores the themes of appearance, jealousy, and feminism. The
narrator recollects her meeting with a beautiful girl when she was younger. There’s a
sense of rivalry between them but in truth, both women admire each other. The
narrator is touched by a kind gesture of that girl that makes her realize that friendship
between women is very valuable.

The Woman’s Rose | Summary

The narrator talks about a box she has in her possession, where she keeps souvenirs.
She says that many women have such boxes but nobody has “her rose”. There’s a
twenty-year-old old rose in her box which she never threw away. The rose reminds her
of a girl she met many years ago and whenever she has doubts about her faith in
women; the smell of the rose makes her believe that “there will be spring”.
There were other flowers in the box too, white acacia flowers given to her by an old
admirer but she threw them away. However, the rose is still there. The narrator
recalls her past, when she was fifteen she visits a village. In that village, there is a girl
and she is the beauty of the town. The town is mostly populated by single men and
everyone wants her. They give her flowers, offer her things and even propose to marry
her. They fight among themselves over that girl.
But when the narrator comes to the village the power shifts to her. All the men go
crazy over her, the narrator believes that she is not as beautiful as the other girl but
since she’s younger and new the men find her attractive. The narrator admires the
beauty of the other girl; she has “dreamy blue eyes, wavy light hair, and full
rather heavy lips”. She enjoys all the attention she receives from those men but she
also feels bad that the other girl is being ignored. She despises those men for their
behavior. The narrator believes that the girl must hate her and wish her dead. The girl
doesn’t know that the narrator stands up for her in front of a few men who insult her
or those who abandoned her. The girl and the narrator hardly interact, there’s a
rivalry that makes it awkward.
When the time comes for the narrator to leave the village, there’s a party arranged in
her honor. There’s only one beautiful white rose in the village which is promised to
the fair-haired girl. At the party, the girl is wearing the white rose on her breast but
when the narrator comes she fastens the rose on her hair. The girl speaks to the
narrator for the first time. She says that the dark hair of the narrator compliments the
rose better. The narrator is grateful to receive such a nice gesture; she admits to the
other girl that she finds her very beautiful. The narrator leaves and they never see each
other again. There are rumors that the girl got married and moved to America. The
narrator again repeats how the smell of the withered rose reminds her that “spring
cannot fail us”.

The Woman’s Rose | Analysis

One significant thing to notice is that the rose is the most cherished possession in
the box the narrator keeps. It symbolizes that the connection she felt with the girl was
very important to her. The white color symbolizes purity thus the gesture of that girl
was a very pure experience for the narrator. The girls were connected in their rivalry
and by the other girl’s act of giving the rose, their connection became a symbol
of friendship. They were competitors for the affection of men but that girl still
chose a friendly gesture, the narrator thought the girl hated her but that was not the
case. This made the narrator realize that women can stick together and be each
other’s companions. When she says “spring cannot fail us” the narrator believes
there is hope for a better future. Spring is a sign of hope and renewal. The author
wants to highlight how society makes women compete with each other based on their
appearance but all women don’t view themselves as rivals. Women can be friends and
this can create a better future for them.
The story also highlights that the men judged these girls based on appearance. They
treat women as objects or a toy, when the narrator arrives in the village it’s as if they
had a new shiny toy to admire. They tried to win the women by using materialistic
things. They took pride in their attempts to court these women however they were not
sincere in their admiration. The way they treated the other girl was very unfair. The
narrator did not like these men much; she disliked the way they behaved. She could
tell that they were fickle and unfaithful. They looked for beauty in a girl and not
character, this emphasizes how their thinking was shallow. There also arose a lot
of jealousy between all those men which made them compete. The men were not in
love with these girls; it was all like a game to them. They abandoned one girl when a
new girl came along. This absurd behavior made women feel insecure and unwanted.
As a girl, the narrator felt a sort of authority by being able to reject men who
approached her. Men lined up in front of her and offered her things but she did not
like them.
The narrator also mentions that in the box there were other flowers from a man that
she got one “sultry summer” but she threw them away a long time ago. She might
have kept those flowers as a girlish vanity but as a grown woman she realized
those pretentious suitors were not sincere in their adoration. The acacia flowers
represent the shallow adoration of the men she encountered. Yet she kept the rose
and despite so much time passing since she received the rose she still remembers that
girl. The act of generosity by the girl gave the narrator hope that there’s good in
women, even when they are competitors. She valued the rose more and it was
more memorable for her.
The light and dark hair of the girls show that they stand on opposite ends. The
narrator herself is jealous of that other girl and she thinks the other girl too hates
her. They hardly talk and their meetings were awkward but in the end, it turned out
that both women admired each other. The narrator admired the girl a lot and tried to
fight men who abandoned her and insulted her. The narrator did not consider herself
beautiful in comparison to the other girl. The way she describes the girl with “dreamy
blue eyes”, “full lips” and her “smile with dimples” it’s obvious that she admired
that girl a lot. It can also be observed that the narrator is perhaps even attracted to
this girl.

The Woman’s Rose | About the author

Olive Schreiner (1855 –1920) was a South African writer. She is best admired for her
novel “The Story of an African Farm” (1883) in which she explores the themes of
agnosticism, existential independence, individualism, the professional aspirations of
women, and the elemental nature of life on the colonial frontier. Her other notable
works include “Trooper Peter Halkett of Mashonaland “(1897) and “Woman and
Labour” (1911).

Analysis of 'The Woman's Rose'

The narrator first comments on the girl’s appearance. She writes that she was “fair” and “fully-fleshed” with “large dreamy blue eyes” a
smile in great detail. This could show that the narrator was attracted to the girl from the beginning.

Neither of the girls speaks to each other because they might feel awkward around each other. They are essentially
be jealous or hateful because of this. However, the narrator is clearly attracted to the girl and her avoidance can b
leave. The girl might see this as an opportunity to talk to her for the first time and clear up any regrets before she
might be less self-conscious and worried about the consequences of being rejected.

The use of light and dark colours contrasts the two girls. The narrator has dark hair and wears a black dress to the
white for the girl’s party attire might be a way to convey her purity and present her as an angel. She generously g
narrator, then honestly shows her attraction to the narrator’s appearance. In contrast, the narrator’s black dress sh
girl for suspecting that she is jealous. It could be a symbol of her guilt for not trusting the girl’s nature and initiati

The white rose is used as a symbol for innocent love. White is associated with purity, while roses are connected w
narrator to show her affection and maybe a belated sign of her wish to become friends. Also, because the rose has
narrator personally, it is also a way to assure herself that few women are the jealous and selfish people that some
renewal.
The narrator has discarded the acacia flowers that a man picked for her, but still keeps the rose from the girl. This
show some disdain towards men, who are presented in the story to be fickle and who the narrator does not value a
acacias because she thinks that it represents the connection between all women and how much they should value
than the shallow adoration that the men give her, so it is ultimately more valuable and memorable to her.

The idea that “spring cannot fail us” indicates hope and faith in a better future. Spring is a time of new life and re
to be “despair”, a better time will come soon. This can also be linked with the story; although the narrator desires
they have not even spoken. This can be seen as the “winter” between them. On the night of the party, however, th
impression on each other. This can be interpreted as the “spring” of their friendship.