Identity In Paul's Case By Willa Cather

The American culture has a tendency to encourage individuality yet reject unique personas and ways of life that do not coincide with the already-established status quo. Contemporary societal norms have become more accepting of trends that were once considered weird, eccentric, or queer. However, in the late nineteenth century, the acceptable ways of life were more straight-laced, and society was more judgmental towards lifestyles outside the scope of “normal”. For people with uncommon attributes--who did not want to become socially isolated--conformity seemed like the answer. But, there were some individuals who did not want to put up a facade and pretend to be like everybody else. Instead, these people chose to embrace their true identity

Throughout the story, it is made abundantly clear that Paul maintains, “a shuddering repulsion for the flavorless, colourless mass of every-day existence,” and holds a particular interest for, “cool things and soft lights and fresh flowers,” (Paul’s Case, 474). Paul wants to distance himself from the drab normalcy of the culture he is surrounded by, and instead, find solace in natural beauty--like that of flowers. The symbolic nature of Paul’s admiration for flowers is distributed all throughout the story, from the opening paragraph to the tragic

Whenever Paul comes home, he feels overwhelmed with, “the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness,” (Paul’s Case, 473). After doing the dishes one night he, “[scrubs] the greasy odour of the dish-water...with the ill-smelling soap he hated”, but then, in order to wash away the scent of dreaded ordinariness, “he shook over his fingers a few drops of violet water from the bottle he kept hidden in his drawer,” (Paul’s Case, 477). Here, the violet water acts as a remedy any unpleasant situation. Another illustration in which Paul uses flowers as a coping method for stress occurs when Paul has just run away from home to New York. After having arrived in his hotel room, Paul, “rang for the bell boy and sent him down for flowers,” and, “when the flowers came, he put them hastily into water...put the violets and jonquils on the tabouret beside the couch…[and] lulled by the sound of the wind...and the cool fragrance of the flowers, he sank into deep drowsy retrospection,” (Paul’s Case, 481). Despite Paul feeling like, “the kind of boy he had always wanted to be,” (Paul’s Case, 482), in New York, he experiences mild anxiety by being in an entirely new place, and therefore, his hotel room is not complete without the endearing familiarity of his