Happy Land

The flowers throughout the novel symbolize roots and history, specifically Mother Rita’s connection to her past. The physical nature of flowers, which grow and have roots, reflect the fact that Mother Rita’s—and then Nikki’s by the novel’s end—history is alive and flourishing through her. Flowers go through cycles of death and regrowth, just as each new generation in Mother Rita’s family builds their own lives while still remaining connected to their history. The flowers emphasize the theme of The Importance of Collective History to the Self, as one flower is important on its own, yet can also be arranged in a bouquet, just as Nikki learns to see herself as part of her wider family history.

Flowers are an important part of Mother Rita’s life, as she cares for her garden each day and sells the flowers in town. She has a true love of gardening, explaining to Nikki how she “believe[s] the garden has added years to [her] life” (38). Additionally, the reader learns through the shifting narrative that flowers also played a pivotal role in Luella’s life. When she needed to raise money to buy the kingdom land back from Weaver, she took up gardening, arranging and selling flowers in town for extra money.