55 pages • 1 hour read
Susan MeissnerA Fall of Marigolds
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 14-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 14 Summary
Andrew and the others in isolation are increasingly ill, and Clara notes that she “wanted to give every man there [her] kindest attention” but admits that she “found [her]self continually gravitating toward Andrew” (129). Andrew makes it through the worst of the illness and begins to share with Clara how he met Lily.
He explains that he met her as he was waiting to leave for America, and she fell in love with him the day they met. For Andrew, however, it was not like falling but more “like…stepping into a room. […].One [he’d] never been inside before. And [he] stepped in because [he] wanted to” (131). Clara realizes this is exactly how she’d felt about Edward: She “felt connected to Edward the moment [she] met him, as if a history had already been written about [them], but the record was stowed in some heavenly place [she] could not visit” (131).
Clara is moved to tears by Andrew’s description of meeting Lily, and she tells Andrew about Edward. When Andrew asks Clara if Edward loved her in return, she answers that Edward “was destined to love [her]” (132). She tells Andrew that she is at Ellis Island not to forget about Edward but to make sure that she always remembers him. Andrew points out that this means she will never be able to leave, to move on, but Clara argues that she is trying to find a way to hold on to Edward’s memory “without it hurting” (133).
Andrew’s slow but sure recovery means Clara must decide what to do about Lily’s letter. Dolly believes that Andrew has a right to the information, that “[n]obody should have to spend the rest of his life grieving something he never had” (135). Before Clara can argue with Dolly, Dr. Randall interrupts their conversation to ask Clara again to discuss poetry with him, and this time Clara is unable to dodge him; they agree to meet the next evening after their shifts.
Chapter 15 Summary
Clara begins reading Lily’s book of poems, beginning with Keats’ most famous poem, “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” in which the narrator describes the scenes depicted on an antique vase. However, no matter how many times Clara reads the poem, she does not understand it. She cannot figure out what Andrew or Lily may have seen in the poem that she does not. While helping an Italian immigrant prepare for discharge, Clara spots Lily’s scarf in the man’s belongings and scolds him for stealing it. She returns with it to Andrew and offers to wash and disinfect the scarf for him. When Dr. Randall enters to check on the patients, he mentions their appointment to discuss poetry, and Clara reveals that she does not understand the poem. Much to her disappointment, however, Dr. Randall does not cancel their meeting. After Dr. Randall leaves, Andrew helps her understand it, explaining that “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is about “expectation and fulfillment,” that “Keats is saying what you can still dream about is often sweeter than the reality” (147). Clara is shocked by how much that idea reflects the situation both she and Andrew now face.
Chapter 16 Summary
As Dolly prepares for a night off the island, Clara prepares to meet Dr. Randall. Dolly insists on doing Clara’s hair as if for a date and comments on how beautiful Clara is. Clara remembers that part of the excitement of a date was “getting ready for it” and that she had last experienced this “thrill” on the “day of the fire” as she “rode the elevator to meet Edward […]” (150). Clara worries that Dr. Randall will get the wrong idea, and Dolly scolds Clara for being “in love with a dream” and “what might’ve been” (151). She even chides Clara for not even trying to learn more about Edward, to learn if he had really loved Clara. When the other nurses come to get Dolly, they overhear part of Clara and Dolly’s discussion, and Clara realizes that the “breach was widening in [her] in-between place” (153). Clara re-reads the poem, using it to confirm her belief that not knowing was better than knowing. She wishes she was going to discuss the poem with Andrew rather than Dr. Randall; she resolves to tell Dr. Randall that she did not understand the poem and leave.
Chapters 14-16 Analysis
Clara notes in Chapter 16 that Ellis Island is slowly losing that “in-between” quality, not only because of pressure from Dolly to move on but also because of Dr. Randall’s interest in Clara and the curiosity of the other workers. Clara’s desire to keep everything as it is is represented both by Keats’ poem and by her relationship with Andrew. For instance, though Clara admits that she pays more attention to Andrew than her other patients, she does not seem to realize how inappropriate her behavior is. For example, when she and Andrew are discussing how he met Lily, Clara cries and shares her story about Edward. This is not only unprofessional but also unfair: Andrew is not only very sick, but he has just lost his wife. Clara’s behavior here focuses attention on her problems, rather than on Andrew, where it belongs.
Furthermore, when Clara spots Lily’s scarf in the Italian man’s luggage, she does not worry about the possibility that the illness could have been spread by the scarf, just that the scarf belongs to Andrew. However, Andrew does not even know the scarf is missing. Indeed, it is Clara who makes a fetish out of remembering, not Andrew. Her increasing attraction to Andrew emphasizes this as well. Her attraction to Andrew is safe because it cannot be acted upon. Just like her feelings for Edward, her relationship with Andrew can never progress beyond this initial interaction.
This lack of progression is similarly reflected in Keats’ poem. While Andrew is correct that Keats was exploring the idea that “what you can still dream about is often sweeter than the reality” (147), the poem is also about never achieving one’s goal, as when Keats describes the “[f]air youth, beneath the trees” who “canst not leave/Thy song” the trees that can never “be bare,” and the “Bold Lover” who “never, never canst […] kiss” (139). While it is true that the object of the Bold Lover’s affection “cannot fade” and “[f]or ever wilt love […] and be fair” (139), it is equally true that the love cannot move forward: Not only will they never kiss, but they will never marry, and they will never have children. This love might be beautiful, but it is also lifeless and barren. The same can be said of Clara’s life on Ellis Island and her love for Edward.
Related Titles
By Susan Meissner
