The imagined interaction between Rosemary and the shop attendant over the lilacs suggests that people tend to act as if Rosemary is always right because of her wealth. The shop attendant's quick compliance in putting the lilac out of sight, as if affirming Rosemary's opinion that lilacs are "dreadfully shapeless," indicates that Rosemary's wealth and status create an environment where others feel compelled to accommodate her preferences, regardless of their own views. This highlights the influence of her social standing and the privileges that come with it.
Use the excerpt from “A Cup of Tea” by Katherine Mansfield to answer the question.
Rosemary had been married two years. She had a duck of a boy. No, not Peter—Michael. And her husband absolutely adored her. They were rich, really rich, not just comfortably well off, which is odious and stuffy and sounds like one’s grandparents. But if Rosemary wanted to shop she would go to Paris as you and I would go to Bond Street. If she wanted to buy flowers, the car pulled up at that perfect shop in Regent Street, and Rosemary inside the shop just gazed in her dazzled, rather exotic way, and said: “I want those and those and those. Give me four bunches of those. And that jar of roses. Yes, I’ll have all the roses in the jar. No, no lilac. I hate lilac. It’s got no shape.” The attendant bowed and put the lilac out of sight, as though this was only too true; lilac was dreadfully shapeless. “Give me those stumpy little tulips. Those red and white ones.” And she was followed to the car by a thin shopgirl staggering under an immense white paper armful that looked like a baby in long clothes. . . .Rosemary had been married two years. She had a duck of a boy. No, not Peter—Michael. And her husband absolutely adored her. They were rich, really rich, not just comfortably well off, which is odious and stuffy and sounds like one’s grandparents. But if Rosemary wanted to shop she would go to Paris as you and I would go to Bond Street. If she wanted to buy flowers, the car pulled up at that perfect shop in Regent Street, and Rosemary inside the shop just gazed in her dazzled, rather exotic way, and said: “I want those and those and those. Give me four bunches of those. And that jar of roses. Yes, I’ll have all the roses in the jar. No, no lilac. I hate lilac. It’s got no shape.” The attendant bowed and put the lilac out of sight, as though this was only too true; lilac was dreadfully shapeless. “Give me those stumpy little tulips. Those red and white ones.” And she was followed to the car by a thin shopgirl staggering under an immense white paper armful that looked like a baby in long clothes. . . .
What does the imagined interaction between Rosemary and the shop attendant over the lilacs suggest about Rosemary?What does the imagined interaction between Rosemary and the shop attendant over the lilacs suggest about Rosemary?
(1 point)
Responses
Rosemary has a discerning eye that can find details that others miss.Rosemary has a discerning eye that can find details that others miss.
Rosemary has a discerning eye that can find details that others miss. Rosemary has a discerning eye that can find details that others miss.
People tend act as if Rosemary is always right because of her wealth.
1 answer
1 answer