Wednesday, March 26, 2014

What does Rosemary symbolize in the Giver?

I think it likely that Rosemary's name was chosen deliberately, an allusion to a famous line from Hamlet, in Act 4, Scene 5, where Ophelia says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember...."  Since, in The Giver, Rosemary was a Receiver, she was intended to hold all the memories that the Giver passed on to her, so this is a perfect choice of name. Rosemary seems to be more a symbol of death in Hamlet, but of course that works well, too, in The Giver, because Rosemary is released at her own request, the memories she has received having devastated and depressed her to the point at which she no longer wished to live.  In Shakespeare's day, herbs were often thought to have healing properties, but they were also symbolic.  This is still true today, where there exists a language of flowers and herbs, although very few people seem to know this. I've included a little "guide"  for this below. 

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