A Fall of Marigolds

Clara meets Dr. Randall, who asks her to call him Ethan, and tells him that she lied about liking Keats. In fact, she admits, she’s only read the one poem, and she doesn’t even like it. Clara tells Ethan, “[I]f you’re going to write about something, then you shouldn’t be vague. Use interesting words if they delight you, but don’t shroud your meaning in obscurity” (157). Ethan agrees, but notes, “[T]rue devotees of verse would say obscurity is a part of a poem’s charm” (157). Clara tries to leave, but Ethan begs her to stay and asks her questions about her personal life, which she refuses to answer. Ethan then reads the poem aloud.

When Ethan asks Clara what she thinks the poem is about, she turns the question back on him. He answers that “the urn is something of a storyteller,” and Clara realizes that, like Ellis Island, it is “an in-between place” (160). Clara tells him about Andrew’s interpretation, then asks him if he believes “that an unfulfilled desire is better because it’s something you can still dream about” (161). Ethan replies that he would probably get tired of the lack of change.