47 pages • 1 hour read
The Secret Life of Sunflowers
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Symbols & Motifs
Sunflowers
Violet gives Emsley a pair of sunflower earrings, explaining that her love of sunflowers is due to their ability to endure in any condition, no matter the soil or water. They are a hardy flower that thrives wherever it is planted, even where other flowers cannot. Emsley instantly recognizes the connection of sunflowers to van Gogh (before having learned of Johanna’s diary or the family connection to him). In this way, Violet encourages Emsley to persevere no matter the challenges. After Violet’s death, Emsley will be challenged to keep her business afloat, but through Perseverance Through Adversity, she will succeed against the odds.
Johanna learns from Theo that, for Vincent, sunflowers meant gratitude. His five sunflower paintings were painted when he lived in Arles. Van Gogh intentionally used only shades of yellow because he wanted to demonstrate that a complete painting could be made with a range of only a single color. At this time, van Gogh was living with Paul Gaugin and receiving financial support from Theo (“Sunflowers.” Van Gogh Museum). The reasons for Vincent’s gratitude are open to interpretation. In the novel, however, Emsley often mentions her gratitude for Violet. Violet not only has been a loving and supportive force in Emsley’s life but also has supported charities and other artists through her patronage. The sunflower earrings remind Emsley of Violet and become a reminder of her family’s connection to Johanna Bonger.
Violet’s Self-Portrait
When Strena takes Emsley to the Museum of Modern Art to view a painting by Violet, Emsley does not expect to see what she sees. The painting, titled Excalibur, depicts a woman who is assumed to be Lady Godiva—the 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman. Lady Godiva famously rode her horse naked through the streets of Coventry after her husband, the earl, quipped that he would lower taxes only if she would do so. Under Strena’s guidance, however, Emsley discovers that the figure in the painting is not Lady Godiva but Violet herself. Disguised, in a sense, Violet plays with the viewer, subverting their expectations, in much the same way she lived her life by defying convention.
The painting instantly uplifts and motivates Emsley, who draws strength and encouragement from the confident way Violet depicted herself in the self-portrait. Emsley longs to defy those who tell her she will not succeed, such as Trey, just as Violet appears to do in the painting. Just as importantly, when Emsley later participates in Strena’s performance art piece, her nudity will be reminiscent of Violet’s nudity in the painting. Exposed and displaying her true and raw self, Emsley at first is nervous, but that fear soon transforms into power and confidence. She finds this experience moving and appreciates the opportunity to be involved in Strena’s art, further recognizing the ways that Violet’s patronage has been instrumental in bringing such art into existence.
The Mystery Painting
Along with the diaries and letters of Johanna Bonger, Emsley finds a rolled canvas in Violet’s possession. The painting depicts an infant, and Emsley notes that the painting is old and dirty. On the surface, the painting appears insignificant, but Emsley trusts that her grandmother must have kept it for a reason. At the end of the novel, it is authenticated to be a painting by Vincent van Gogh himself. The painting’s subject matter and its being hidden with its source unknown are both symbolic. The painting depicts Vincent’s older brother, who was stillborn. The infant, also named Vincent, may have haunted the painter given that they shared a first name. The painting, then, memorializes the brother who never lived, preserving him forever in a way that was not possible in reality; in art, he endures. Similarly, Vincent’s paintings themselves live on as a testament to and representative of his person, keeping him symbolically alive long after his death.
That Violet certainly knew the artist and thus the painting’s worth—but kept both hidden—is also symbolic. That the painting was hidden parallels Vincent’s unrecognized (or unseen) talent during his lifetime. In a way, then, Emsley, as she discovers the painting, is placed in Johanna’s position as she seeks to make public the value of Vincent’s art. On its surface, the painting appears crude and unskilled, much as van Gogh’s work was first regarded by critics. However, as art aesthetics changed, its genius became clear.
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