A Fall of Marigolds

Taryn and Clara both strive to understand the nature of love, and both ultimately conclude that love is a force for good, even if the eventual outcome is painful or harmful. Taryn recognizes that it is love that spurred her to call her husband and ask him to meet her for breakfast, and while it is true that he ultimately died, that death is not the result of Taryn’s love for her husband but the hatred of the terrorists. Clara too struggles to define love in all its forms, but Clara has a more romanticized view of love. She seems to believe that love does not exist unless it is reciprocated, and it is not until she understands that love is not something that comes from within but is instead “from heaven” and “given to us not to hold on to or hide from, but to give away” (362) that she can let go of what might have been with Edward. Clara recognizes that love is a force for good, regardless of whether it is reciprocated, and that one must always choose love no matter the consequences, or risk being trapped somewhere “in-between.”

The text engages with the idea of healthy versus unhealthy grieving. Both main characters are trapped in the grieving process. Taryn and Clara try to numb their grief and guilt by throwing themselves into something else: Taryn focuses on raising her daughter, and Clara focuses on her work. However, the text seems to argue that grief must be dealt with and processed. Readers recognize when both characters move from unhealthy to healthy grief. For Clara, this means learning about Edward and visiting his grave. For Taryn, this means talking to Mick and going to the memorial service. By the end of the novel, both women can think of their loved ones without breaking down and recognize that true healing is the willingness to open themselves to love again.

Although Taryn’s grief takes longer to work through than Clara’s, Taryn is not as physically disabled by her grief. Clara is physically unable to leave the island alone, and when she does, she has a series of disabling panic attacks. This difference relates to how the two characters were permitted to grieve. Taryn’s grief was not only expected and public, it was shared by the whole world. Clara’s grief, on the other hand, is private. At first, no one really knows about Edward, and this could explain why her grief seems more debilitating.