The Honey Witch

“It would be like painting the walls of her life beige. It would be a safe choice, a comfortable choice that no one could fault her for, but it does mean that every day she would have to sit in her room and look at her beige walls and wonder what could have been if she had painted them bright yellow or pink. What if she had forgone paint entirely? Or better yet, what if there were no walls at all?”

In this quote, Marigold considers how her life would look if she chose to settle down and marry Mr. Notley. The simile relating marriage to beige walls and comparing it to Marigold’s desire for no walls develops the idea that marriage would not serve Marigold, but rather keep her captive in a dull existence. This quote reflects The Complexities of Women’s Social Roles and Expectations.

“Marigold has grown up surrounded by the poets who propel the narrative—how romantic to die young, unstretched, unsullied, without ever outgrowing the part of the ingenue. But what happens when the girl keeps living, when she ages proudly and defiantly, without abandoning imagination, or stories, or that secret wish to find magic wherever it hides?

Well, then the poets would call her a witch.”

This quote describes the cultural and societal perception of women through the eyes of male artists and poets in the 1800s. The idea that women either die young, marry, or are deemed a witch illustrates the way society romanticizes women’s youth and innocence above women’s autonomy and intellectual contributions. This quote not only foreshadows Marigold’s transformation into the Honey Witch, but also develops the theme of The Complexities of Women’s Social Roles and Expectations.

“‘It is your life and it is your choice, Marigold. Completely your choice. Just because she chose a life of love and marriage does not mean you must. I beg you, darling,’ she says as she grasps Marigold’s hands. ‘Put away all thoughts of anyone else’s expectations. Only you have the right to decide your own fate.’”

In this quote, Althea encourages Marigold to make decisions for herself, regardless of the pressure put on Marigold from both her mother and her grandmother. In this context, Althea has not seen Marigold since Marigold was a child, and she does not know that Marigold is already uncertain about Raina’s wishes for Marigold to settle down and marry.