Hans’s garden represents little Hans’s lifeblood. Hans works dutifully in his garden every day, and he sells his flowers to make a meager living. Despite his poverty, Hans is rich in flowers: “In all the country-side there was no garden so lovely as his. Sweet-Williams grew there, and Gilly-Flowers, and Shepherds’-purses, and Fair-maids of France.” Thus, when the Miller selfishly plucks flowers from the garden, justifying his actions by claiming that real friends must share everything, the Miller is actually cheating Hans out of his livelihood. There are no limits to the Miller’s exploitation: by the end of the tale, the garden is depleted, and Hans is dead. The garden, like Hans, is beautiful in its innocence, but easily taken advantage of.
Hans’s Garden Quotes in The Devoted Friend
“Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend of all was big Hugh the Miller. Indeed, so devoted was the rich Miller to little Hans, that he would never go by his garden without leaning over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season.”
“‘My dear friend, my best friend,’ cried little Hans, ‘you are welcome to all the flowers in my garden. I would much sooner have your good opinion than my silver buttons, any day.’”
Hans’s Garden Symbol Timeline in The Devoted Friend
