Seeds, Plants, and Gardens Symbol Analysis

The various seeds, plants, and gardens that Isabel encounters symbolize her burgeoning identity, as well as her (and others’) humanity. When Isabel and Ruth are first told that they’re going to be sold after Miss Finch’s death, Isabel looks around for something she can take that will connect her to Momma (most of the things she thinks of don’t technically belong to her, as an enslaved person). She settles on some seeds Momma collected before her death, which Isabel later decides to plant in the Locktons’ bare garden. Isabel doesn’t know what kind of seeds they are, but she figures it’s the only way she can remember Momma and honor her in some small way. When the seedlings perish in the frigid winter before Isabel figures out what they are, at a time when Isabel feels totally lost and dehumanized, it suggests that Isabel will have to find other ways to connect to her family and hold onto her humanity.

While Isabel doesn’t find these attempts very fulfilling for most of the novel, she eventually decides to use her love of seeds and plants to create a name that’s totally hers. When Isabel is preparing to run from the Locktons’ home for the final time in the novel, she must fill out a pass, which will allow her to move freely through the city and escape punishment (enslaved people can’t travel certain places without a pass). In an act of defiance, Isabel refuses to write the name the Locktons’ gave her—Sal Lockton—on the pass. Instead, she takes the opportunity to give herself a last name that will honor her parents: Isabel Gardener. This symbolizes Isabel’s final step of coming of age and deciding who she wants to be: someone who will continue to grow and define her own identity over the course of the next two novels in the trilogy.

Other people’s gardens that Isabel encounters also serve as markers of those characters’ humanity and compassion, or the lack thereof. The Locktons are cruel to Isabel and Ruth, and their bare garden reflects their moral bankruptcy—they don’t feel the need to nurture anything, whether that be other people or plants, since they can buy whatever they need. Lady Seymour, on the other hand, keeps beautiful roses in her garden that Isabel notes Momma would love. The lady’s thriving garden is a sign that she’s caring and kind, and she shows Isabel kindness and compassion throughout the novel.