The Rose Bargain

Roses have myriad symbolic meanings throughout the narrative, and the most notable example lies in the title itself, which refers to the bargains that the debutantes make to render themselves “beautiful, fragile, sweet—perfect English roses” (19). These bargains between Queen Mor and her subjects revolve around women’s efforts to mold themselves into better candidates for marriage. In this case, roses represent marriageability and the Societal Limitations on Victorian Women. The image of roses also reappears frequently, especially when Mor uses the flowers in her magical trials. For example, when the debutantes’ friends and family members are enchanted to tell the truth at a tea party, “[t]he ballroom has been transformed with rosebushes” (275) whose literal thorns reflect the figurative “thorns” of the dangerously frank conversations that ensue. This event exposes Greer’s secret relationship with the stable boy, a revelation that leads Mor to kill Greer and engineer Joseph’s disappearance.

Dancing acts as a motif that sometimes supports the theme of Societal Limitations on Victorian Women and sometimes subverts it, depending upon the context of each specific scene. Because upper-class women are expected to know how to dance properly and perform waltzes and solos, the act of dancing in this context represents conformity and a performative version of acquiescence to patriarchal limitations.