25 pages • 50 minutes read
Stephen KingThe Man Who Loved Flowers
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1977A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
The Young Man
The Young Man is the story’s protagonist, a tortured soul who lost Norma, the love of his life, 10 years earlier. King’s portrayal of the young man as an unnamed “everyman” initially misdirects the reader to assume a common humanity with the character based on the experience of young love. The character’s anonymity also emphasizes his ability to disappear into the streets of New York, and contrasts with the specificity of his named love. While the young man is an everyman who turns out to be an individual capable of great evil, Norma is abstracted in the opposite way: She is a specific young woman whose identity is misapplied to all of the young man’s victims.
The protagonist represents the juxtaposition of good and evil in all of humanity. First, he embodies The Joy of Young Love. As he walks the spring streets of New York, everyone he encounters feels part of his quest to meet Norma. For the older onlookers, he represents Nostalgia for the past as he triggers their memories of first love. No one witnesses the young man commit a brutal murder. The narrative suggests the violent deed stems from the trauma of lost love. The young man is a reminder of how darkness can overwhelm the human mind in extreme circumstances. As the story concludes, the protagonist names himself “Love.” While this assertion seems ironic in the light of his brutal act of violence, he demonstrates the two sides of love: its joys, and the profound pain caused by loss.
Flower Vendor
The old flower vendor serves as a guide on the young man's journey to meet Norma. He is also a reminder of humanity’s progression to old age and the Nostalgia evoked by witnessing The Joy of Young Love. Most importantly, the old man introduces the symbol of flowers to the narrative. Talking the young man through flower choices, he reminds the young man that everything has a cost and that first love is priceless. He is the voice of experience, both with flowers and life, offering free advice to the young man. Once he has chosen, the flower vendor takes great care to preserve the expensive tea roses for the young man, ensuring they reach his love unharmed. His careful actions take on irony when the presentation of the bouquet precipitates a brutal murder.
Two Women, Traffic Cop, & Teenage Girls
These secondary characters highlight The Joy of Young Love. They also foreshadow what is to come. As the young man makes his way toward Norma, he is unaware of the two women outside the washateria, the traffic officer, and the girls. Instead, he is totally absorbed in his quest to reunite with his love. Like the rest of the onlookers, these characters see a good-looking young man with a “dreamy expression” who is obviously smitten with a beautiful woman. However, King’s diction, which describes the women watching “wistfully,” suggests a regret or sorrow attached to their Nostalgia, where previous onlookers only felt joy. This shift adds tension to the narrative.
The young traffic cop, seeing himself in the young man’s face, stops cars so he can cross the street unimpeded. Ironically, this officer, who is supposed to serve and protect, is fooled by the facade of love and allows a serial killer free reign to kill again. Finally, the two giggling teenage girls see in the protagonist what they want for themselves one day. They too are tricked by the demeanor of a man they should fear.
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By Stephen King
