Flower names

[rowen_lm]

No: HPFGUIDX 40169

Random monkey said:
<< Ooh - I've just noticed something: Lily and Petunia, both 
flowers.. ok, that's not very significant. >>

Buttercup (I find your name very ironic in this post! lol) said: 
<< I've noticed that too... and more to the point, there seem to be 
loads of flower names in HP. As well as Lily and Petunia, we have 
Lavender (Brown), Poppy (Pomfrey), Fleur (Delacour), Pansy 
(Parkinson), (Padma (Patil - I read somewhere that Padma is Hindi [I 
think] for Lotus), Narcissa (Malfoy)... I don't know if the number of 
plant-related names is significant, but it seems possible there's 
some symbolism there. After all, lilies are supposed to represent 
(and correct me if I'm wrong here) beauty and death amongst other 
things. I have no idea what petunias represent, but they're a bit 
plain and ordinary aren't they? >>

Well, check out the definitions of Petunia and Lily on "What's In a 
Name?"(http://www.theninemuses.net/hp/) Here's an excerpt: 

"Both Lily and her sister, Petunia, are named after flowers. The lily 
symbolizes purity and innocence. Compare with the petunia, which 
symbolizes anger and resentment."

Hmmm. I also looked on some flower sites. Lily is "return of 
happiness" and Petunia is "I am furious!" Very interesting.

Lily was sort of a matyr and I guess most of us would view that as 
pretty pure, although I don't know about return of happiness. Petunia 
is definetly(sp? I can never spell it!) bitter and furious about Lily 
(her speach in the Hut-on-the-Rock scene!). I looked up the meanings 
of the other names you sited as well:


Lavender Brown - I couldn't find any meanings here. Maybe it's just 
two colors! lol

Poppy Pomfrey - An excerpt for WIAN?: "The poppy is one of the oldest 
medicinal plants." and "Her (last) name is most likely derived 
from "comfrey", a medicinal plant" The meaning for Poppies 
is "pleasure, consolation, wealth, success."

Fluer Delacour - We all know this just means "Flower of the Court."

Pansy Parkinson - Odd meaning: "thoughts." The word pansy can also 
mean a push over. (i.e. "You're such a pansy!")

Padma - Another excerpt from WIAN?: "Padma (Ganga) is the Hindu 
goddess of the Ganges, India's most sacred river. She is the sister 
of the mountain goddess Parvati." It also means lotus, which stands 
for "estranged love."

Narcissa - The flower is the Narcissus, meaning "Egotism, Formality." 
Both the flower and the name are a reference to the Greek myth of 
Narcissus, who was so beautiful that he fell in love with his 
reflection in a pool, stayed to look at himself and died.


I'm also adding Moaning Myrtle to this. Myrtle stands for "home or 
love." It's also a Hebrew emblem of marriage! lol

Rowen Avalon