In 2020 I have enjoyed the story of flowers for Mrs Harris, to such an extent that I learnt to multi-layer my writing pieces, in fact all of my art work, to use a carrier.
As Food Technologist I see carriers as enablers, carrying the substance (where it is all about) to the process and in the end the carrier is not important anymore. It is the liquid used for transportation. Or a substance used for keeping the product stored until the point of consumption.
That is a carrier.
So what is a carrier in a story, in abstract form? Let´s have a look at the story of Flowers for Mrs Harris, this piece gave me the use of carriers in all my stories and work to come.
Aida enjoys a simple life ‘All I need is right here’ as cleaning lady. She drinks tea with a slice of bread. She enjoys the flowers in a vase ‘A life without flowers is no life at all’.
She is married. Her best friend lives next door.
The electricity goes out, candle appears. This emphasis lack of money. And death of husband.
Her husband is dead we know as audience. She still talks to him as if he is there (on stage he is actually still there). Violet her friend next door talks about the usual problems on work and they drink tea. Aida takes up work from her friend and goes to a different house.
In the house she sees a brochure of Dior dresses and this to Aida is heaven. She loves the dress. “I cannot explain it. It is like a piece of me I had no idea I would find. Something to come home to”
The exclusive high price Dior dress seems impossible. ‘you are what you are and the likes of us...’
‘do what makes you happy’ and ‘rules can be changed’
A verbal fight with Violet ‘I thought we were the same. YOU CHANGED’ . “I have nothing to share anymore’
To talk to dead husband Albert learns Aida ‘You do not win, if you do not try’ and Aida says ‘I cannot help what I feel. What I saw’.
She wins the lottery by making a puzzle. It turns out to be 100 pounds. This is not enough.
She says ‘All I always needed was here’. If I am worth it. I earn it. And she decides to save money for the dress. It would take 5 years.
The electricity fails again. When a candle light appears, Violet comes to apologize and help save the money for the dress. Bit by Bit. Day by Day.
In the meanwhile all different characters around here need money and Aida is generous lending them for their happiness. ‘Do never give up on your dream’ she says to others. One character gives up his boring accounting job and starts as photographer. Another does audition for a film producer.
Aida gets tired. And is giving it seems too much money away.
Then after 2,5 years she has the money. She gets a picture for her passport for free from the photographer ‘after all you have done for me’. Then the sterling is worth less and this means 6 months of more work and delay in getting to Paris.
Aida needs to sell her husband’s watch. ‘Let me go’ her dead husband says ‘just for once, serve yourself. ‘If you were here (she says to husband), I would not need it’ (the dress).
Now she can go to France (end of ACT 1)
She goes to Dior house and there is a fight between managers. They do not have any attention to her. She looks like a cleaning lady. ‘We do not sell to you. This is exclusive’
‘I worked 2,5 years for this!’ ‘Why can I not be a customer’
It is beautiful for everyone.
Then fight continues between managers and madame cries. Adia says to manager ‘do not tell her off. You can see she needs a cuddle and a cup of tea’.
Kindness wins over and Aida wins to see the show ‘every woman is a princess’ says mr Dior. The show is wonderful to Aida and a shared experience to Aida as cleaning lady as Mr. Dior.
She sees the dress she wants to buy. It costs 570. She is short with 520.
Because she gives so many compliments on the show and with genuine expression she gets a discount and gets it for 520. It takes first a week to make the dress, then ready the other day.
She gets invited to the house of one of the male workers at Dior. She goes with a female model from Dior to his place. She is complaining ‘They do not want me. They want the magazine model. I love a simple life with chocolate cake’. Aida says ‘We all want what we have not’. The lady cancels her appointment and has chocolate cake.
Next morning Aida visits the flower market ‘Life without flowers is no life at all’ and meet Mr Dior on a bench. They talk about past lovers and flowers.
The dress is ready, Aida gets a taxi to the airport. She needs however to pay customs, 150 pounds for the dress. At customs she says the truth ‘I have a 520 pound Dior dress in this exlusively made for me’ and the guy smiles and does not look in the suitcase.
‘It is not your fault if they can’t believe you’
She goes home, one of the characters has nothing to wear for audition and she borrows the Dior dress before Aida even goes home.
At home Violet visits and can’t wait to see the dress. It is returned, badly stained and burned by an accident at the party.
Aida gives up. ‘After 33 years of cleaning, it just is dirty the next day.’
Then a delivery of flowers comes, from Mr Dior who fell in love with Aida. There is an invitation of the wedding of the couple she arranged the meeting with. With chocolate cake!
‘We will never forget you’ ‘Thank you’
There are flowers everywhere. The photographer visits and says he has clients and is happy and says thank you. The audition went great and the character apologies with a very small bouquet of flowers (while the whole room is full of flowers).
The watch is returned to her, I know the story and I could not sell it.
All the flowers….Aida is amazed and crying…. Holding the watch she says ‘I have to let you go’
Ends with: All you need is right here.
I love the story.
I like the repetitive sentences that tell the message.
I love the contrasts.
I love the simplicity in this piece on props and symbols.
The contrasts are ‘glamour’ and ‘simple life’ and kindness overwins.
Also ‘nothing is out of reach’ is a great inspiration. You can see something of great value, then strive for it...and then it can take you further than your own imagination. This story tells you how.
You see a magnificent ‘something’ that was not there before (and there was no room and need for earlier, because Aida had her loving husband). That something became important, however she strived with generosity still and did not became selfish or greedy. All friends in the end helped in the quest – because she won sympathy because they saw the sacrifice on money and the true care towards them.
And then that ‘something’ became a carrier for her kindness.
She spread love and kindness and this propelled her forward. She reached the impossible ‘something’. And then it was lost only to be replaced by something of much more significance she did not realize. She realized her OWN value and she received it. She earned her way by kindness. The route to ‘something’ gave her strenght, made it possible for her to spread her kindness – yet it was only a carrier. To be replaced in the end by love again.
And life without flowers – is life without beauty. In this story;
Without beauty there are no carriers in life to go from love to love. And kindness wins thoughout, no matter how much money you own and in what country you live. And small things such as a cup of tea and a cuddle is the way of kindness. Strive for something wonderful, throughout the journey never give up – yet always remain kind. It will show you your value. A value beyond your expectation.