A Critical Reading of Odour of Chrysanthemums

In the story ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’, the protagonist Elizabeth Bates awaits the return of her coalminer husband, blaming his drinking habits for his late return. She expects him to be brought home drunk “like a log” and ironically, it turns out that he had perished at the coal mine in an accident and his body, stiff and lifeless, was later carried back by his coworkers. Upon discovering that her husband is dead, Elizabeth remains strangely calm and composed. The later part of the text sheds light on her cognizance of their marriage and how it is with his death that she was able to view her husband in a different light. Through this story, D.H. Lawrence presents human condition as one filled with despair and desolation, where despite the presence of elements of hope, the story ultimately ends in anguish and bleakness.

At the very beginning of the story, D.H. Lawrence depicts a scene at Brinsley Colliery, the industrial base of an English coal-mining town. Here, the conflict between Machinery and Nature sets a tone of bleakness and despair for this story. Lawrence’s description of the mechanical world set against the natural surroundings highlights the contrasts between the two. On one hand the locomotive engine seems full of life and vigour as it “[comes] clanking, stumbling down from Selston with seven full waggons”. On the other hand, the fields are “dreary and forsaken”, with its “withered oak leaves dropp[ing] noiselessly”, with all of these interweaving in the “afternoon’s stagnant light”. The full wagons contrasts the dreary and forsaken fields, the clanking, stumbling engine contrasts the noiseless oak leaves while the motion of the locomotive engine sets itself apart from the apparently still and lifeless surroundings. It is seems that it is the introduction of the locomotive engine that gives rise to the tainting and destruction of the surrounding landscape; the noise emitted by the mechanical world has blotted out the sounds of the natural surroundings and beauty it encompasses.

Having painted an austere scene so filled with desolation, D.H. Lawrence brilliantly establishes the tone of this story as both forlorn and melancholic. As one reads on, one wonders-is the human condition filled with despair, and nothing but that?

“The night was very dark.

In the great bay of railway lines, bulked with trucks, there was no trace of light, only away back she could see a few yellow lamps at the pit-top,

and the red smear of the burning pit-bank on the night.”

The sky gets darker with each passing minute as Elizabeth Bates awaits the return of her husband. From the quote above we gather that from where she stood outside the house, just as she was about to leave in search of her husband, it was almost pitch dark and the only traces of light seem to be from the pit-top and pit-bank quite some distance away. Here, darkness symbolizes the fears that Elizabeth Bates has-the fear of the unknown and of the unexpected. The darkening of the night sky and the place settings exemplifies the intensifying of her fears. It creeps into her as darkness fell and overwhelms her, to the extent that even her “anger was tinged with fear”. The darkness, together with her fears is juxtaposed by the warmth and light emitted from the nearby houses as well as local bars. As she looks over towards that general direction, “she [sees] the lights in the houses; [and] twenty yards further on were the broad windows of the ‘Prince of Wales’ very warm and bright”. The light she sees represents a false sense of hope for her, for albeit at that moment it served to reassure her that her husband was “merely drinking over there at the ‘Prince of Wales'”, she was not actually sure if Walter was in fact there. Seeing that “she faltered”, it is likely that she was merely trying to pacify herself with that thought in mind. Darkness, which represents the protagonist’s fears, serves to bring out the negativity of the situation by underscoring the despair and lack of hope.

Despite most part of the story taking place in darkness, one may recall that there is in fact the presence of light and warmth:

“The kitchen was small and full of firelight; red coals piled glowing up the chimney mouth. All the life of the room seemed in the white, warm hearth and the steel fender reflecting the red fire. The cloth was laid for tea; cups glinted in the shadows.”

Nevertheless, through the eyes of the Elizabeth’s younger child, John-who, like his father, seems to have an insatiable thirst for more brightness and warmth than his home provides-this light and the warmth which it may provide appear to be very much insignificant and inadequate. We note from Elizabeth’s conversation with her children that it is not uncommon for Walter to return home lamenting about how “there never is fire when a man comes home sweating from the pit-a public house is always warm enough”. The exact sentiments are echoed in his son’s words as John repeatedly whines in protest that “[he] canna see”, when his mother “dropped piece after piece of coal on the red fire, [till] the shadows fell on the walls, [and] till the room was almost in total darkness.”

The inadequacy of both light and warmth within the house, which results in the dissatisfaction of Walter and John, or even Elizabeth, can be seen as representative of the trump of darkness over light, and more significantly, despair over hope. D.H. Lawrence underscores the despairing and desolate human condition of man by the use of imagery, which places large emphasis on darkness of the various settings in which the story unfolds. The contrast between darkness and light, apathy and warmth within the story signifies the faint presence of hope yet ultimately, this element of hope remains only to be overpowered by the darkness.

“She silenced herself, and rose to clear the table.”

While Elizabeth Bates may be able to suppress her emotions and remain in control of the things happening within her family, such as ensuring that her routinely duties were carried out, at the end of the day she remains at the mercy of larger forces that she cannot ever hope to control-those of life and death. This lack of control culminates into an overpowering fear within her, and we witness towards the end of Part I, as “[her anger] tinged with fear”, that she has already begun to fear for the worse to come. Her apprehension blossoms from the lack of control of what is taking place around her and she starts to panic with the newfound knowledge that things may not always go as planned or expected.

Yet, elements of hope linger on as the seemingly negative nature of the events which had unfolded themselves may in fact act as a positive catalyst, driving the characters towards better, more hopeful circumstances. For Elizabeth, the death of her husband brings to her some sort of epiphany, and allows her to see him as well as view their marriage in a different light. This can be seen from how “she was grateful to death, which restored the truth”. As for Walter, his death seems to have cleansed him of his misdeeds, stealing his his last breath yet leaving behind “a man of handsome body, [with] his face show[ing] no traces of drink”.

Perhaps death was not merely about sadness and losses, the biblical reference to Jesus Christ’s last words, “it is finished”, seems to signify how death marks the coming of a new beginning-a new way of looking at things and a new understanding of their relationship. Despite this, the promise of a turn for the better ends only in greater uncertainty as Elizabeth remains enslaved and bound by her duties, for “she knew she submitted to life, which was her immediate master. But from death, her ultimate master, she winced with fear and shame”. This duty hints at how she is bound by her responsibilities, both as a wife and as a mother, and that ultimately, she would have to succumb to fate, and to Death. Through the inevitability of Life and Death, D.H. Lawrence’s portrayal of Man as vulnerable and inadequate underscores the despair and desolation of human condition.

Hope exists, yet ultimately, despair prevails-this is perhaps what D.H. Lawrence is trying to convince the readers of through ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’. Yet it leaves us to wonder-why would the human condition be as such?

Word Count: 1, words