Metaphor - Almond Blossom in the short story "The Last Laugh" by D.H. Lawrence

Metaphorical Analysis of “Almond Blossom” in The Last Laugh

by D.H. Lawrence

One of the most important metaphors in the story is ‘almond blossom’. Almond blossom symbolizes rebirth and awakening.  Especially, in Christian culture, almond blossom has a significant meaning and it is mentioned in the Bible several times. It generally refers to the nativity of Jesus Christ, especially to His virgin birth. Moreover, in Israel, almond trees are the first to blossom while all other trees are sleeping. Thus, they give the first signs of the arrival of spring. Spring is the season of rebirth as its both real meaning and metaphorical meaning. In terms of metaphorical meaning referring to rebirth, it can also symbolize a change that somebody goes through. In fact, the almond tree itself symbolizes the perception of interior truth.

In the story, Miss James discovers something about herself and finds the balance between her irrational side and rational side. The story is mainly about her inner journey starting with seeing a face in the shrubbery. She gradually discovers her potential throughout the story and her perception of herself changes at the end. She is in the irrational zone at the beginning of the story but as the story goes on, she finds the rational part inside her. She becomes aware of the both sides and she forms balance between them. This is a kind of rebirth and change for her. Throughout the story, she recognizes smell of an almond blossom for three times. I think this is both a foreshadowing element and a metaphor to her discovery about herself and the change she will go through.  She notices a ‘most marvellous almond blossom smell’ first in front of the church. Later on, she recognizes a ‘curious almond blossom smell’ while she is questioning her love for Marchbanks and she recognizes a ‘faint almond blossom smell’ at the end of the story. According to my interpretation, the smell of almond blossom changes in parallel to Miss James’s gradual awakening and shifting to the rational zone. At the end, it becomes a ‘faint smell’ with her full awareness of the rational zone and balancing it with the irrational zone.