--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the first blooms came they were like…" description: "\"“When the first blooms came they were like the single big flower Oriental prostitutes wear on the sides of their heads…But when the hemispheres of blos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg" --- # When the first blooms came they were like the single big… ![“When the first blooms came they were like the single big flower Oriental prostitutes wear on the sides of their heads…But when the hemispheres of blossom appear in crowds they remind him of nothing so much as hats worn by cheap girls to church on Easter.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg) > ““When the first blooms came they were like the single big flower Oriental prostitutes wear on the sides of their heads…But when the hemispheres of blossom appear in crowds they remind him of nothing so much as hats worn by cheap girls to church on Easter.”” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, sensual comparison of blooming flowers to ornamental headpieces, highlighting the tension between natural beauty and societal ornamentation. **In simple terms:** Nature vs artifice Key Takeaway Beauty can be both natural and contrived Themes Nature Sensuality Contrast Cultural symbols Aesthetic Mood Reflective Sensual Wry Type Literary Metaphorical When to use this quote - Literary analysis - Art criticism - Fashion history - Cultural studies Key Concepts Bloom Headpieces Prostitutes Church Easter Practical Applications - Poetic description - Metaphorical illustration Questions to Reflect On - How does the metaphor reshape our perception of beauty? - What does the comparison say about cultural appropriation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blooms/) [Blooms Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blooms-came-1095711/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Hemispheres Blossom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemispheres-blossom-1095710/) [Misogyny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misogyny/) [Oriental Prostitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oriental-prostitutes-1095713/) [Prostitutes Wear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prostitutes-wear-1095712/) ## Related quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies; because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with parching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/all-your-renown-is-like-the-summer-flower-that-blooms-and-dies/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I was a late bloomer. But anyone who blooms at all, ever, is very lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-was-a-late-bloomer-but-anyone-who-blooms-at-all-ever-is-very-lucky/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“A flower does not use words to announce its arrival to the world; it just blooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-flower-does-not-use-words-to-announce-its-arrival-to-the-world-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [A flower does not bloom without a reason nor does it spreads it's fragrance without any reason.everything in this life has it's own general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeena-maharjan/a-flower-does-not-bloom-without-a-reason-nor-does-it-spreads-it-s/) [Jeena Maharjan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeena-maharjan/) > [“The lyrics gather in my soul, as the blooms burst in air, and what flows from my lips is a symphony long held inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayita-bhattacharjee/the-lyrics-gather-in-my-soul-as-the-blooms-burst-in-air-and-what/) [Jayita Bhattacharjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayita-bhattacharjee/) > [“From the pantry, Caraline emerged with an armful of jars-- dried yarrow, bay, thyme, cedar tips, and bloodroot. At the table next to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-cassidy/from-the-pantry-caraline-emerged-with-an-armful-of-jars-dried-yarrow/) [Ivy Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-cassidy/) > [She is my flower and she blooms for the one who loves her best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/she-is-my-flower-and-she-blooms-for-the-one-who-loves-her-best/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [“All that blooms must fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-chin/all-that-blooms-must-fall/) [Marilyn Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-chin/) > [“A flower blooms in my heart. You may call that love, but I call it water conservation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-flower-blooms-in-my-heart-you-may-call-that-love-but-i-call-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“When a flower blooms, God is smiling at mankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/when-a-flower-blooms-god-is-smiling-at-mankind/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Every flower blooms in its own time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-petti/every-flower-blooms-in-its-own-time/) [Ken Petti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-petti/) > [The rose is without 'why'; it blooms simply because it blooms. It pays no attention to itself, nor does it ask whether anyone sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelus-silesius/the-rose-is-without-why-it-blooms-simply-because-it-blooms-it-pays-no/) [Angelus Silesius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelus-silesius/) > [“Hope always blooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-neftzger/hope-always-blooms/) [Amy Neftzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-neftzger/) > [Those who talk on the razor-edge of double-meanings pluck the rarest blooms from the precipice on either side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/those-who-talk-on-the-razor-edge-of-double-meanings-pluck-the-rarest/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Blooms quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [“Hope always blooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-neftzger/hope-always-blooms/) [Amy Neftzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-neftzger/) > [The rose is without 'why'; it blooms simply because it blooms. It pays no attention to itself, nor does it ask whether anyone sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelus-silesius/the-rose-is-without-why-it-blooms-simply-because-it-blooms-it-pays-no/) [Angelus Silesius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelus-silesius/) > [“Every flower blooms in its own time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-petti/every-flower-blooms-in-its-own-time/) [Ken Petti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-petti/) > [“When a flower blooms, God is smiling at mankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/when-a-flower-blooms-god-is-smiling-at-mankind/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“A flower blooms in my heart. You may call that love, but I call it water conservation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-flower-blooms-in-my-heart-you-may-call-that-love-but-i-call-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“All that blooms must fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-chin/all-that-blooms-must-fall/) [Marilyn Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-chin/) > [She is my flower and she blooms for the one who loves her best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/she-is-my-flower-and-she-blooms-for-the-one-who-loves-her-best/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [“From the pantry, Caraline emerged with an armful of jars-- dried yarrow, bay, thyme, cedar tips, and bloodroot. At the table next to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-cassidy/from-the-pantry-caraline-emerged-with-an-armful-of-jars-dried-yarrow/) [Ivy Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-cassidy/) > [“The lyrics gather in my soul, as the blooms burst in air, and what flows from my lips is a symphony long held inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayita-bhattacharjee/the-lyrics-gather-in-my-soul-as-the-blooms-burst-in-air-and-what/) [Jayita Bhattacharjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayita-bhattacharjee/) > [A flower does not bloom without a reason nor does it spreads it's fragrance without any reason.everything in this life has it's own general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeena-maharjan/a-flower-does-not-bloom-without-a-reason-nor-does-it-spreads-it-s/) [Jeena Maharjan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeena-maharjan/) > [“A flower does not use words to announce its arrival to the world; it just blooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-flower-does-not-use-words-to-announce-its-arrival-to-the-world-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [I was a late bloomer. But anyone who blooms at all, ever, is very lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-was-a-late-bloomer-but-anyone-who-blooms-at-all-ever-is-very-lucky/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies; because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with parching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/all-your-renown-is-like-the-summer-flower-that-blooms-and-dies/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Those who talk on the razor-edge of double-meanings pluck the rarest blooms from the precipice on either side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/those-who-talk-on-the-razor-edge-of-double-meanings-pluck-the-rarest/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) [Browse all 87 Blooms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blooms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the first blooms came they were like the single big flower Oriental prostitutes wear on the sides of their heads…But when the hemispheres of blossom appear in crowds they remind him of nothing so much as hats worn by cheap girls to church on Easter.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-like-the-single-big-flower/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blooms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-like-the-single-big-flower/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/john-updike-396_blooms_when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-lik_87346.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the first blooms came they were like the single big flower Oriental prostitutes wear on the sides of…” — John Updike", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When the first blooms came they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-like-the-single-big-flower/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/when-the-first-blooms-came-they-were-like-the-single-big-flower/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```