Nick, by Christina Rossetti:

Nick lives in a small village near Fairyland. He seems to have everything that

anyone could want, but his sour disposition makes him envious of his neighbors.

One day, when he is wishing he could be a flock of sparrows or a blight to

destroy his neighbor's cherry trees, a fairy tells him that, from this time onward,

he will become whatever he wishes to be.

Nick turns into a flock of sparrows and attacks the cherries, but his neighbor

shoots all the sparrows but one. A cat attacks the sparrow, and Nick wishes he

were a dog and attacks the cat. He then leaps at the cat's owner, who cries out:

"Mad dog!" This brings out the villagers in pursuit of Nick. They chase after him

with bludgeons, and he wishes that he were the stick of the one of the villagers

who is running at the front of the pack, since this stick is about to hit him.

Nick becomes the stick, the stick breaks, and the villager takes the pieces home

and throws them on the fire. Nick is angry that not only is he burning, but he is

providing warmth and comfort for others in the process. He wishes he were the

fire, so that he could burn down the cottage, but when he does so, neighbors

come with water and reduce him to a small, smoldering flame.

Nick reflects that he has done more harm to himself than to anyone else and

decides that his next wish will not be malevolent. He wishes to be a rich old man

who lives nearby. However, that night, while lying in his bed, robbers break into

the old man's house and murder him. Nick, however, is able to wish to be

himself again and frightens the robbers away by apparently returning to life. He

makes his way home and, the next day, repairs the harm he has done to all his

neighbors. No one ever hears him wish for anything again.

Analisis:

In Nick by Christina Rossetti we have the theme of discontent, jealousy,

insecurity, redemption and change. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed

narrator the reader realises from the beginning of the story that Rossetti may be

exploring the theme of discontent. Despite having many comforts Nick appears

to be dissatisfied with his life. His dissatisfaction being driven by what others

have and what he himself does not have. Even though materially Nick would be

well off and not in need. It also becomes clear to the reader that Nick is jealous

of others. Though again it is important to remember that Nick lacks very little

apart from being happy for another individual. He also seems to be motivated by

anger and when he notices that one of his neighbours may have achieved

something. Nick too feels the need to achieve something better. Though some

critic’s might suggest that Nick is being driven by a desire to better himself. This

is not the case. Simply put Nick is jealous of all those around him who may be

prospering.

In reality Nick is exceptionally insecure. Something that is noticeable by the

wishes he wishes for during the story. With the exception of the last wish. Nick is

destructive because of the sense of insecurity and jealousy he feels towards

others. Something that is very human as can be seen by the fact that when Nick

wishes to be wealthy others rob him and try to kill him. Which may be the point

that Rossetti is attempting to make. She may be suggesting that people can lose

sight of themselves or be blinded by jealousy and as a result take a course of

action that is not only legally inappropriate but morally corrupt too. It is also

interesting that despite all his wishes with the exception of the last one. Nick

never achieves contentment or happiness. There is always someone or

something better than him. First he wishes to be a sparrow and is attacked by a

cat and then to defeat the cat he wishes to be a dog but that too proves to be

unsuccessful. It is possible that Rossetti is suggesting that an individual should

be happy with what they have without looking at their neighbour as a point of

reference.

Similarly contentment may not be found by gaining materially but rather by

living a decent and honest life. As Nick’s neighbours appear to be doing. There is

no incidence in the story, until Nick gets involved, that Nick’s neighbours are

discontent with what they have. It is only when Nick wishes to take a different

form through his wishes and to cause havoc that his neighbours become

unhappy. Which may leave the reader to believe that out of all the characters

mentioned in the story the real problem lies with Nick. It is through his

unhappiness or jealousy that he brings disturbance to his neighbours lives. This

may be important as Rossetti may be highlighting how an internal emotion like

jealousy can have an external effect. In this case on the lives of Nick’s

neighbours. It is also noticeable that Nick himself only feels content when he

makes his last wish. It is as though the lesson learnt by Nick is understood. He

knows that it is better to appreciate what he has rather than focusing on what

others might have.

The end of the story is also interesting as Rossetti appears to be exploring the

theme of redemption. After Nick is transformed back into himself he redeems

himself by repairing the damage he has caused to others. He becomes generous

and attempts to make amends to all the neighbours that he has wronged. It is

as though Nick has learnt to be grateful. If anything Nick is a far happier man

when he no longer is jealous of others. It is also interesting that Rossetti

introduces the theme of redemption as she may be suggesting that everybody

has the opportunity to change. That it is better for an individual to help others,

as Nick has helped his neighbours, rather than to be envious of them. Not only

does it suggest that an individual is showing a degree of kindness to another

person but within themselves they will be happier too. Something which is very

much the case when it comes to Nick. Having experienced what it is like for his

wishes to come true Nick realises that it is better to be respectful of others. To

admire another person’s achievements or good fortune and not to be overly

concerned about what he may not have but to focus on the things he has. By

doing so Nick becomes a happier man.

“The woman’s rose”, by Olive Schreiner:

The narrator talks about a box she has in her possession, where she keeps

souvenirs. She says that many women have such boxes but nobody has “her

rose”. There’s a twenty-year-old old rose in her box which she never threw away.

The rose reminds her of a girl she met many years ago and whenever she has

doubts about her faith in women; the smell of the rose makes her believe that

“there will be spring”.

There were other flowers in the box too, white acacia flowers given to her by an

old admirer but she threw them away. However, the rose is still there. The

narrator recalls her past, when she was fifteen she visits a village. In that

village, there is a girl and she is the beauty of the town. The town is mostly

populated by single men and everyone wants her. They give her flowers, offer

her things and even propose to marry her. They fight among themselves over

that girl.

But when the narrator comes to the village the power shifts to her. All the men

go crazy over her, the narrator believes that she is not as beautiful as the other

girl but since she’s younger and new the men find her attractive. The narrator

admires the beauty of the other girl; she has “dreamy blue eyes, wavy light hair,

and full rather heavy lips”. She enjoys all the attention she receives from those

men but she also feels bad that the other girl is being ignored. She despises

those men for their behavior. The narrator believes that the girl must hate her

and wish her dead. The girl doesn’t know that the narrator stands up for her in
front of a few men who insult her or those who abandoned her. The girl and the

narrator hardly interact, there’s a rivalry that makes it awkward.

When the time comes for the narrator to leave the village, there’s a party

arranged in her honor. There’s only one beautiful white rose in the village which

is promised to the fair-haired girl. At the party, the girl is wearing the white rose

on her breast but when the narrator comes she fastens the rose on her hair. The

girl speaks to the narrator for the first time. She says that the dark hair of the

narrator compliments the rose better. The narrator is grateful to receive such a

nice gesture; she admits to the other girl that she finds her very beautiful. The

narrator leaves and they never see each other again. There are rumors that the

girl got married and moved to America. The narrator again repeats how the

smell of the withered rose reminds her that “spring cannot fail us”.

Analisis:

One significant thing to notice is that the rose is the most cherished possession

in the box the narrator keeps. It symbolizes that the connection she felt with the

girl was very important to her. The white color symbolizes purity thus the

gesture of that girl was a very pure experience for the narrator. The girls were

connected in their rivalry and by the other girl’s act of giving the rose, their

connection became a symbol of friendship. They were competitors for the

affection of men but that girl still chose a friendly gesture, the narrator thought

the girl hated her but that was not the case. This made the narrator realize that

women can stick together and be each other’s companions. When she says

“spring cannot fail us” the narrator believes there is hope for a better future.

Spring is a sign of hope and renewal. The author wants to highlight how society

makes women compete with each other based on their appearance but all

women don’t view themselves as rivals. Women can be friends and this can

create a better future for them.

The story also highlights that the men judged these girls based on appearance.

They treat women as objects or a toy, when the narrator arrives in the village it’s

as if they had a new shiny toy to admire. They tried to win the women by using

materialistic things. They took pride in their attempts to court these women

however they were not sincere in their admiration. The way they treated the

other girl was very unfair. The narrator did not like these men much; she disliked

the way they behaved. She could tell that they were fickle and unfaithful. They

looked for beauty in a girl and not character, this emphasizes how their thinking

was shallow. There also arose a lot of jealousy between all those men which

made them compete. The men were not in love with these girls; it was all like a

game to them. They abandoned one girl when a new girl came along. This

absurd behavior made women feel insecure and unwanted. As a girl, the narrator

felt a sort of authority by being able to reject men who approached her. Men

lined up in front of her and offered her things but she did not like them.

The narrator also mentions that in the box there were other flowers from a man

that she got one “sultry summer” but she threw them away a long time ago. She

might have kept those flowers as a girlish vanity but as a grown woman she

realized those pretentious suitors were not sincere in their adoration. The acacia

flowers represent the shallow adoration of the men she encountered. Yet she

kept the rose and despite so much time passing since she received the rose she

still remembers that girl. The act of generosity by the girl gave the narrator hope

that there’s good in women, even when they are competitors. She valued the

rose more and it was more memorable for her.

The light and dark hair of the girls show that they stand on opposite ends. The

narrator herself is jealous of that other girl and she thinks the other girl too

hates her. They hardly talk and their meetings were awkward but in the end, it

turned out that both women.

admired each other. The narrator admired the girl a lot and tried to fight men

who abandoned her and insulted her. The narrator did not consider herself

beautiful in comparison to the other girl. The way she describes the girl with

“dreamy blue eyes”, “full lips” and her “smile with dimples” it’s obvious that she

admired that girl a lot. It can also be observed that the narrator is perhaps even

attracted to this girl.