In real life, unlike in Shakespeare...

In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. -- Hubert H. Humphrey

One of the classes I am taking this semester is called "The Self in the Novel". Intriguing, no? As I've been plowing my way through the first novel on the reading list (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens), one of the recurring themes I have encountered is the connection between a name and an identity. This quote showed up in my quotes of the day email (yes, I do subscribe to a quotes of the day email) today and just seemed to fit the novel so well. I certainly think that there is a link between the name and the self. Think about how different it is when someone calls you by a nickname versus your full name, or one nickname rather than another. I know that I associate certain nicknames with certain periods in my life and they really only sound right when used by specific people. I think that is telling. I might not act like a totally different person around these various groups of people, but there are certainly differences. Plus, each of my nicknames has come from a very different time in my life, when I was a very different person in many ways. Just an intriguing thing for you to contemplate. Or to promptly forget as soon as you stop reading this.

I figured that since the Shakespeare Mr. Humphrey is referring to is Juliet's famous rose speech (which I have previously posted with another rose picture here) that I ought to pair this rumination with a lovely, traditional kind of rose picture. I love the color of this particular bloom. Taken at the Buchart Gardens on Vancouver Island.