Only the Beautiful

The amaryllis that Helen gifts Rosie becomes a symbol of hope and new life, for just as the teenage Rosie clings to this plant that has the potential to blossom into new beauty, she also bestows this name upon her newborn daughter, and in this way, the plant comes to represent hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable injustices. Even in the very beginning of the novel, the amaryllis represents something beautiful and comforting in Rosie’s world, for although she feels lonely and bereft of any true friends, she takes comfort in the idea that the dormant flower can be coaxed into blooming in wintertime if it is cared for correctly. In this way, the amaryllis becomes a metaphor for the dynamics of her life, for she too is currently forced into dormancy despite her potential to bloom.

When the amaryllis is taken away from her at the institution to which she is committed, Rosie keeps its symbolic hope alive by naming her daughter after the flower. As her narrative states, “[The baby] is like a perfect bloom that has pushed its way up out of the dark ground, just like the amaryllis Helen gave me.