William Faulkner's 'Kew Gardens'

In "Kew Gardens," the narrator follows different visitors to the gardens, giving the reader brief snapshots of their lives through small descriptions as they reach the same flowerbed. The story begins with a description of the oval-shaped flowerbed. The flowers are red, yellow, and blue. They have petals that are heart or tongue shaped. As the petals fall to the ground, they stain the earth with these colors for a moment. Petals from the flowers soar through the sky in the summer breeze. The flowers' colors flash in the air. On this July day, men, women, and children walk through the gardens. As the people move through the gardens, their movements resemble butterflies. They zigzag in all directions to get a better view of the flowers.

One

Simon asks his wife, Eleanor, if she ever thinks about the past. He tells her that he is thinking about Lily and asks her if this bothers her. Eleanor says she doesn't mind. She tells him that everyone thinks about the past, especially in the Kew Gardens, a place that is filled with young couples that lie together under the trees. She says these couples are like ghosts of one's own reality. He explains that the memory of past love for him is tied to dragonflies and shoe buckles. Eleanor tells him that her memory of the Kew Gardens is of a kiss, 20 years ago. She and other little girls sat near the lake with their easels, painting pictures of the water lilies. She had never seen red water lilies before. Someone kissed her on the back of the neck. The kiss distracted her. She was unable to paint that afternoon because her hands were shaking. She allowed herself 5 minutes on the hour to think of the kiss. She says the kiss was precious, "the kiss of an old woman with a wart on her nose, the mother of all my kisses all my life." Eleanor calls to her children, Hubert and Caroline, telling them to catch up. The family moves on from the

The younger of the two looks unnaturally calm. His gaze is fixed in the distance, ignoring the older man who is speaking. The older man has an uneven, shaky walk. His stance is like an impatient horse. He jerks suddenly as he talks continually. Between statements he smiles to himself and speaks again, as though the smile is the answer to his question. He is talking about the spirits of the dead. He says they are telling him about their experiences in heaven. He says that heaven was known by the ancients and with this new war happening, they are rolling between hills and thunder. The man talks about a machine and a widow, a woman dressed in black. He has caught sight of a woman in the distance dressed in purplish black. The man takes off his hat and places his hand on his heart. He hurries toward the woman, gesturing wildly. The young man, William, catches him by his sleeve. William distracts the older man by pointing out a flower. The man looks at it confusedly. He leans in close to the flower as if he is listening to a voice inside it. He talks about the forests of Uruguay. He says he visited these forests hundreds of years ago with the most beautiful woman in Europe. William moves the man forward, away from the flowerbed. William's face shows stoical patience. As the older man talks on, William's patience grows