THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Primrose

Lisa Karen Miller

          Shakespeare used the primrose to symbolize sickly young women, or the early death of a young maiden, who, like the flower, dies before she gets to see the sun. In The Winter’s Tale, Perdita (“she who is lost”) says:

“…pale primroses,

That die unmarried ere they can behold

Bright Pheobus in his strength – a malady

Most incident to maids.”

          She is speaking of the illness known as chlorosis (in plants, a lack of iron and loss of color) first described in 1554. Up until the mid-18^th century, people called it the “disease of virgins.”  Hormonal changes during puberty brought on fatigue, moodiness, and decreased appetite.

          Sounds rather like lovesickness to me.

          When a maiden succumbed to this malady, a garland of flowers would be hung over her grave or her seat in the church.

          After Laertes warns his sister Ophelia against developing any deep feelings for Hamlet, she retorts with:

“…but, good my brother,

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,

Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven

Whilst like a puffed and reckless libertine

Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads

And recks not to his own rede.”

          In other words, “Practice what you preach, brother dear.” It could be drawn from this that she suspects her brother of being sweet on the Danish prince.

          Here Shakespeare uses the primrose path as a metaphor for a carefree and easy life; those who tread it often leave the hard graft to others.  Why he chose the primrose to illustrate this isn’t clear.

          Perhaps he was simply seeking alliteration and two syllables.

          Elsewhere, the Bard describes the flower as faint and pale, as in Cymbeline:

“I’ll sweeten thy sad grave. Thou shalt not lack

The flower, that’s like thy face, pale primrose.”

          None other than Queen Victoria, she who reigned in Great Britain for 63 years, held great affection for the primrose. Upon the death of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (who always knew how to use his natural charm to bring the sometimes stubborn queen to do his bidding), she sent a wreath of primroses.  The wreath was accompanied by a note “his favorite flowers.”

          It’s unclear whether she was speaking about Disraeli or her long-dead and much beloved husband, Prince Albert. It was after his death she took to using the “royal we,” meaning that she was speaking for both of them.  She had his clothes and shaving water laid out every morning as well, all during her 40 years of black-clad widowhood.       

          Some called her extended mourning excessive, but who would question a queen on such a delicate matrimonial matter?

          Though the mother of nine was no pale virgin, she certainly seemed to suffer from lovesickness after the death of her dear companion.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller