Marigolds

Collier examines the idea of The Eroding Impact of Poverty through her characters in “Marigolds.” Lizabeth is a 14-year-old girl who is left to her own devices as her parents struggle to make enough money to keep her and her younger brother fed and clothed during the Great Depression. Her older siblings have all left, and the youngest two have been sent to live with relatives because their parents cannot care for them. While the story does not mention this except in passing, it serves as an example of a literal erosion of Lizabeth’s family because of poverty. Lizabeth and the children she plays with are described as poorly clothed and running wild, which implies that their families have been similarly eroded by poverty. Collier’s descriptions show how poverty can impact entire communities, a reality that remains true today, decades after the story was written.

Collier explores some of the erosive emotional impacts of poverty through the character of Lizabeth’s father. Lizabeth’s father’s personality has changed. He was a strong man who laughed loudly, played with the children, and taught them to hunt and fish, but since losing his job, he has changed, and not for the better. Her father has been reduced to silence so often that Lizabeth notes, “I did not notice my father’s silence, for he was always silent these days” (8-9). The first piece of dialogue Lizabeth’s father is given is when he speaks to his wife late at night when she has finally returned from her domestic job: “‘Twenty-two years, Maybelle, twenty-two years,’ he was saying, ‘and I ain’t got nothing for you, nothing’” (9). Lizabeth’s mother attempts to console him, but he says, “It ain’t right. Ain’t no man oughtta eat his woman’s food day in and day out, and see his children running wild. Ain’t nothing right about that” (9).

Early 20th century America, when this story takes place, was patriarchal and designated men as breadwinners and providers for their families. Men who wanted to meet these expectations but could not were burdened by a sense of failure, especially when their wives had to pick up the slack. Lizabeth’s father’s self-worth has come from providing for his wife and children, and unemployment has taken away that pride and forced him to rely on his wife and others. Eventually, the scene culminates in Lizabeth’s father sobbing while his wife consoles him. His breakdown shows how poverty can break even the strongest person, especially one additionally burdened by the societal expectations placed on men of the time.

Miss Lottie is another character who illustrates both the physical and emotional impacts of poverty. Her house is described in the following way:

[…] the most ramshackle of our ramshackle homes. The sun and rain had long since faded its rickety frame siding from white to sullen gray. The boards themselves seemed to remain upright, not from being nailed together but rather from leaning together like a child might have constructed from cards (5).

In many ways, it seems like Miss Lottie has given up on attempting to care for her home or connecting with her community, but she still tries to cultivate beauty. Despite her poverty, she grows marigolds and finds love and purpose in creating beauty in her yard for its own purpose. However, when Lizabeth destroys the marigolds in a moment of vengeful despair, it devastates Miss Lottie, who never plants marigolds again. This final erosive act takes away her will to fight for something more. “Marigolds” explores in depth both the physical and emotional toll that poverty takes and how it erodes the humanity of even the strongest characters.