--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For these dances the boys send corsages…" description: "\"“For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep afterward and keep in my bureau drawer; squashed carnations and brown-edged rosebuds, wads of de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg" --- # For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep… ![“For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep afterward and keep in my bureau drawer; squashed carnations and brown-edged rosebuds, wads of dead vegetation, like a collection of floral shrunken heads.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg) > ““For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep afterward and keep in my bureau drawer; squashed carnations and brown-edged rosebuds, wads of dead vegetation, like a collection of floral shrunken heads.”” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes keeping wilted flowers as trophies, symbolizing how remnants of beauty become morbid souvenirs. **In simple terms:** Dead flowers become grim keepsakes. Key Takeaway Recognize when nostalgia turns macabre. Themes memory loss beauty Mood melancholic reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal reflection - art criticism - psychology counseling Key Concepts symbolism nostalgia decay Questions to Reflect On - What objects do you keep that remind you of loss? - When does remembrance become obsession? A Different Perspective Clinging to past beauty can become unhealthy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carnations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnations/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't even like regular plants. Except for corsages and long-stemmed roses...and those only hurt when they don't show up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-don-t-even-like-regular-plants-except-for-corsages-and-long-stemmed/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Maybe wrist corsages cut off circulation to the brain? I mean, is that why so many girls do stupid things on prom night? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/maybe-wrist-corsages-cut-off-circulation-to-the-brain-i-mean-is-that/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [I was meant to date the captain of the football team, I was going to be on a romantic excursion every Saturday night, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-was-meant-to-date-the-captain-of-the-football-team-i-was-going-to/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“And then he noticed the flowers, dotting the breast of every man, woman, and child in Rebel Red. Pink corsages. Corsages like the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shewanda-pugh/and-then-he-noticed-the-flowers-dotting-the-breast-of-every-man-woman/) [Shewanda Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shewanda-pugh/) > [“(Carnations) The only flower that, when given to someone, is marginally superior to dead ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/carnations-the-only-flower-that-when-given-to-someone-is-marginally/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [My granddaddy on my momma's side, he was a romantic. He loved love songs. Every Valentine's Day, I remember him buying a red carnation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-turner/my-granddaddy-on-my-momma-s-side-he-was-a-romantic-he-loved-love/) [Josh Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-turner/) > [I don't think that there's that much difference between a photograph of a fist up someone's ass and a photograph of carnations in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-don-t-think-that-there-s-that-much-difference-between-a-photograph/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I believe that virtually everyone has the ability to either grow some food at home, or to find an appropriate location to start a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-peterson/i-believe-that-virtually-everyone-has-the-ability-to-either-grow-some/) [Greg Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-peterson/) > [Jesus Christ's claim of divinity is the most serious claim anyone ever made. Everything about Christianity hinges on His carnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-palau/jesus-christ-s-claim-of-divinity-is-the-most-serious-claim-anyone/) [Luis Palau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-palau/) > [“In the beginning we start with roses. The king’s flower right? Only they wilt in less than a day, especially when exposed to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-mcleod-kearns/in-the-beginning-we-start-with-roses-the-king-s-flower-right-only/) Ruth McLeod-Kearns > [To win the trophy of enchanting grace: Ranks of Carnations, to all ladies dear, Of whose sweet taste I write approval here, For these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-pitter/to-win-the-trophy-of-enchanting-grace-ranks-of-carnations-to-all/) [Ruth Pitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-pitter/) > [And in my flower-beds, I think, Smile the carnation and the pink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/and-in-my-flower-beds-i-think-smile-the-carnation-and-the-pink/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Love is a war of lightning, and two bodies ruined by a single sweetness. Kiss by kiss I cover your tiny infinity, your margins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/love-is-a-war-of-lightning-and-two-bodies-ruined-by-a-single/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [To the Elysian shades dismiss my soul, where no carnation fades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-the-elysian-shades-dismiss-my-soul-where-no-carnation-fades/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as certain dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-don-t-love-you-as-if-you-were-the-salt-rose-topaz-or-arrow-of/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Carnations quotes > [My granddaddy on my momma's side, he was a romantic. He loved love songs. Every Valentine's Day, I remember him buying a red carnation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-turner/my-granddaddy-on-my-momma-s-side-he-was-a-romantic-he-loved-love/) [Josh Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-turner/) > [“(Carnations) The only flower that, when given to someone, is marginally superior to dead ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/carnations-the-only-flower-that-when-given-to-someone-is-marginally/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [To the Elysian shades dismiss my soul, where no carnation fades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-the-elysian-shades-dismiss-my-soul-where-no-carnation-fades/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Love is a war of lightning, and two bodies ruined by a single sweetness. Kiss by kiss I cover your tiny infinity, your margins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/love-is-a-war-of-lightning-and-two-bodies-ruined-by-a-single/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [And in my flower-beds, I think, Smile the carnation and the pink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/and-in-my-flower-beds-i-think-smile-the-carnation-and-the-pink/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as certain dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-don-t-love-you-as-if-you-were-the-salt-rose-topaz-or-arrow-of/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [To win the trophy of enchanting grace: Ranks of Carnations, to all ladies dear, Of whose sweet taste I write approval here, For these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-pitter/to-win-the-trophy-of-enchanting-grace-ranks-of-carnations-to-all/) [Ruth Pitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-pitter/) > [“In the beginning we start with roses. The king’s flower right? Only they wilt in less than a day, especially when exposed to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-mcleod-kearns/in-the-beginning-we-start-with-roses-the-king-s-flower-right-only/) Ruth McLeod-Kearns > [Jesus Christ's claim of divinity is the most serious claim anyone ever made. Everything about Christianity hinges on His carnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-palau/jesus-christ-s-claim-of-divinity-is-the-most-serious-claim-anyone/) [Luis Palau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-palau/) > [I believe that virtually everyone has the ability to either grow some food at home, or to find an appropriate location to start a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-peterson/i-believe-that-virtually-everyone-has-the-ability-to-either-grow-some/) [Greg Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-peterson/) > [I don't think that there's that much difference between a photograph of a fist up someone's ass and a photograph of carnations in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-don-t-think-that-there-s-that-much-difference-between-a-photograph/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [This time is difficult, wait for me: we will live it out vividly. Give me your small hand: we will rise and suffer, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/this-time-is-difficult-wait-for-me-we-will-live-it-out-vividly-give/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [The colors that show best by candlelight are white, carnation, and a kind of sea-water green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-colors-that-show-best-by-candlelight-are-white-carnation-and-a/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Too quick despairer, wherefore wilt thou go? Soon will the high Midsummer pomps come on, Soon will the musk carnations break and swell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/too-quick-despairer-wherefore-wilt-thou-go-soon-will-the-high/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Sir, the year growing ancient, Not yet on summer's death nor on the birth Of trembling winter, the fairest flowers o' th' season Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/sir-the-year-growing-ancient-not-yet-on-summer-s-death-nor-on-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 20 Carnations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carnations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep afterward and keep in my bureau drawer; squashed carnations and brown-edged rosebuds, wads of dead vegetation, like a collection of floral shrunken heads.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages-which-i-keep-afterward-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carnations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages-which-i-keep-afterward-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/margaret-atwood-40_quote_for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages_1705778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For these dances the boys send corsages, which I keep afterward and keep in my bureau drawer; squashed…” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For these dances the boys send...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages-which-i-keep-afterward-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-these-dances-the-boys-send-corsages-which-i-keep-afterward-and/#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 } } ] } ```