How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
The figures of these men and women straggled past the flower-bed with a curiously irregular movement not unlike that of the white and blue butterflies who crossed the turf in zig-zag flights from bed to bed. (2)
How graceful—the humans' movements mimic those of the butterflies. What do you think Woolf achieves by drawing a comparison between these creatures and the story's characters? And what kind of relationship does this suggest between humans and the natural world? We might have more in common than we think.
Quote #2
"Doesn't' one always think of the past, in a garden with men and women lying under the trees? Aren't they one's past, all that remains of it, those men and women, those ghosts lying under the trees…one's happiness, one's reality?" (6)
According to Eleanor, nature tends to inspire people to reflect on the past, and characters in this story do tend towards reflection and memory when they're in the presence of trees and flowers. Why do you think the natural world has this kind of effect upon people? What kind of statement is Woolf making about the relationship between humans and nature? It could be said that in returning to nature, we can return to visit forgotten corners of our inner selves.
Quote #3
In the oval flower-bed the snail, whose shell had been stained red, blue, and yellow for the space of two minutes or so, now appeared by be moving very slightly in its shell, and next began to labour over the crumbs of loose earth which broke away and rolled down as it passed over them. (10)
In the garden, the humans and the snail coexist, and every time someone passes by the flowerbed, the little snail takes note. In fact, all the characters of the story come to light only as they pass the snail's flowerbed. Why do you think Woolf structures the narrative this way? Why give the snail such centrality? What's the relationship between the snail and the human characters? Does the world actually revolve around a snail in a garden? We certainly wish it did.