A look into the "Case of the Pressed Flowers"
For Detective Morell this case is the only case that he has left unsolved, and it has been bothering him for years, especially since a new flower is delivered every year. However, as amateur detectives, we can take a different type of look at the case using floriography, or the language of flowers. Many people believe that flowers symbolize and convey certain feelings, meanings, and emotions. Perhaps Stieg Larsson was one of those people, and each of the flowers he mentions has significant meaning in relation to the timeline of events.
Vanger said: “I was born on November 1. When Harriet was eight she gave me a birthday present, a pressed flower, framed.”
Vanger walked around the desk and pointed to the first flower. Bluebell. It had an amateurish mounting.
“That was the first. I got it in 1958.” He pointed to the next one. “1959.” Buttercup. “1960.” Daisy. “It became a tradition. She would make the frame sometime during the summer and save it until my birthday. I always hung them on the wall in this room. In 1966 she disappeared and the tradition was broken.”
Vanger pointed to a gap in the row of frames. Blomkvist felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The wall was filled with pressed flowers.
“1967, a year after she disappeared, I received this flower on my birthday. It’s a violet.”
- Chapter 6, page 114
Interpretation
Harriet was eight years old when she first started gifting Henrik Vanger with pressed flowers. The first flowers that Larsson allows us to know about are the bluebell, buttercup, and daisy. 1958 is the same year that Harriet and Martin started living with Henrik. With the first flower, the bluebell, you can tell that Henrik has saved Harriet from an awful home life; the bluebell represents humility, constancy and gratitude. With the next two flowers it's obvious that although he had a poor home life since then she still is a child and retains some purity, and innocence. She also has love for great uncle Henrik.
Then fast forward to when tragedy strikes and Harriet has vanished. That year Henrik doesn't receive a pressed flower gift. However, the next year he receives a violet, that seems to say
that he should move forward. Violets represent modesty, virtue, affection, watchfulness, faithfulness, love and let's take a chance on happiness.
*Spoiler:*
Seeing as Harriet's motive to continue sending him flowers is to reassure him that she is well this flower representation makes a lot more sense. She is still faithful to him, and has love for him. She also wants them both to move past what has happened and take a chance on happiness.
*End Spoiler*
Harriet was eight years old when she first started gifting Henrik Vanger with pressed flowers. The first flowers that Larsson allows us to know about are the bluebell, buttercup, and daisy. 1958 is the same year that Harriet and Martin started living with Henrik. With the first flower, the bluebell, you can tell that Henrik has saved Harriet from an awful home life; the bluebell represents humility, constancy and gratitude. With the next two flowers it's obvious that although he had a poor home life since then she still is a child and retains some purity, and innocence. She also has love for great uncle Henrik.
Then fast forward to when tragedy strikes and Harriet has vanished. That year Henrik doesn't receive a pressed flower gift. However, the next year he receives a violet, that seems to say
that he should move forward. Violets represent modesty, virtue, affection, watchfulness, faithfulness, love and let's take a chance on happiness.
*Spoiler:*
Seeing as Harriet's motive to continue sending him flowers is to reassure him that she is well this flower representation makes a lot more sense. She is still faithful to him, and has love for him. She also wants them both to move past what has happened and take a chance on happiness.
*End Spoiler*