Gardens

The narrator's invocation of gardens and gardening in the novel represent her compulsion to explore the more organic, emotional side of herself. The garden near her house is a place of refuge, a place where she can let go and experience a sense of calm and control. We see the narrator's connection to gardening in "Morning, Noon and Night" when she begins gardening on a whim after nursing an injured bird back to health and then becomes almost compulsively interested in cultivating simple crops. This act helps her go out into public and feel respected and understood. She feels as though she is being watched in a good way, and this motivates her to continue visiting the small plot. When she quits the challenging and competitive world of academia, the narrator continues her gardening habits in her new cottage outside of town. She remains connected to...