Roses are Red
By Gabrielle Verre & Lali Zamora
Beauty and the Beast
In Beaumont’s original fairytale “Beauty and the Beast, ” Beauty’s father goes on a quest to reclaim his fortune and asks his daughters what they wish for him to bring them back. Humble Beauty simply requests a rose. Her father stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and steals a rose resulting in his imprisonment by the Beast. The efforts of her father bringing her a rose to demonstrate his love for her as a red rose symbolizes love and respect. Although it is a symbol of love, the rose initiates the conflict in this story causing Beauty to suffer in her father’s place. Pain can be associated with the thorns of a rose; love can be painful and Beauty longs to see her father. Without the initial request for the rose, Beauty would never have met the Beast, fallen for him, and decided to marry him. The rose can symbolize the love between Beauty and her father, the pain she feels without him, and her happy ending with the Beast.
Alice in Wonderland — Painting Rose’s Red
The color red can symbolize various things; love, passion, desire, and power. In Alice in Wonderland, the primary colors are red, white, and black. The Queen of Hearts represents the color red well. In a scene of Alice in Wonderland, Alice comes upon the cards painting white roses red. Alice is puzzled by it, so she asks them why they are painting the roses. They tell her that if the queen were to find out about the white flowers, it could cost them their heads. The queen shows no mercy to anyone who ignores or disrespects her. She uses red as an element of fear. Red is in the blood, which intices fear; it is also present when the men had to paint the roses red out of fear. Red is also commonly known to represent love. The Queen of Hearts believes it is better to be feared than loved, but it is something she has clearly longed for. She surrounds herself with people like her that please her and meet her every need. To her, that is love. She is happy, and she believes the people around her are as well.
Valentines Day
Valentines Day, it comes once a year whether we like it or not. Named after St. Valentine, this romantic holiday is celebrated in many countries and contains vestiges from ancient Roman and Christian traditions. Every February 14th, everyone’s love life is put on display whether it is a chance for romance or tragedy. Candy, cards, gifts, and of course, red roses are exchanged between loved ones. Dozens of red roses are purchased for this holiday because nothing says “I love you” like a red rose. Flowers have a language of their own and can signify different things; the gift of a red rose can translate to passion, courage, respect and romantic love. At the end of the day, this holiday is all about love, and nothing symbolizes love and romance better than a red rose.
