SOURCE: Crabtree, Sherry. “Cather's ‘Paul's Case.’” Explicator 58, no. 4 (summer 2000): 206–08.

In the following essay, Crabtree considers the significance of flowers in “Paul's Case.”

Critics frequently mention Paul's red carnation, in Willa Cather's short story “Paul's Case,” as a badge of “fidelity to his dream, his talisman” (Wasserman 125) or as a symbol of his alienation from the world (Randall 275). That analysis can be extended to include the story's frequent references to other flowers, which also symbolize Paul's desires and mirror his disconnection from the world. The expanded interpretation enhances the reader's understanding of Paul's fragility, his craving for beauty, and his inability to thrive in his environment.

Paul uses the red carnation as a visible symbol of his alienation from the world of Cordelia Street. Yet the symbol is misunderstood by his teachers, who see the flower as a vehicle of defiance. To them, the red carnation is not “properly...