Rose of Sharon Quotes

For Rose of Sharon was pregnant and careful. Her hair, braided and wrapped around her head, made an ash-blond crown. Her round soft face, which had been voluptuous and inviting a few months ago, had already put on the barrier of pregnancy, the self-sufficient smile, the knowing perfection-look; and her plump body – full soft breasts and stomach, hard hips and buttocks that had swung so freely and provocatively as to invite slapping and stroking – her whole body had become demure and serious. Her whole thought and action were directed inward on the baby. She balanced on her toes now, for the baby’s sake. And the world was pregnant to her; she thought only in terms of reproduction and of motherhood.

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 10. This describes Rose of Sharon and how pregnancy is affecting her. The passage emphasizes her maternal instincts and her strong desire to protect her unborn baby. There is also the suggestion that her young husband Connie is being deprived of sex by the baby, when Steinbeck writes about the "barrier of pregnancy."

Connie, her nineteen-year-old husband, who had married a plump, passionate hoyden, was still frightened and bewildered at the change in her; for there were no more cat fights in bed, biting and scratching with muffled giggles and final tears. There was a balanced, careful, wise creature who smiled shyly but very firmly at him. Connie was proud and fearful of Rose of Sharon. Whenever he could, he put a hand on her or stood close, so that his body touched her at hip and shoulder, and he felt that this kept a relation that might be departing.

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 10. Connie Rivers’ reaction to his pregnant wife Rose of Sharon is a mixture of bewilderment, fear and regret that he is missing out on sex. At nineteen, he is very young and it is understandible that he may feel a bit intimidated that by his wife being transformed from a high-spirited, saucy girl to a wise and mysterious woman. In this passage we learn of his worry that her growing connection to their baby will weaken their relationship. He often touches her in order to preserve his relationship with her.

The world had drawn close around them, and they were in the center of it, or rather Rose of Sharon was in the center of it with Connie making a small orbit about her.

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 13. The pregnant Rose of Sharon and young husband Connie Rivers are in a world of their own. All their focus is on the pregnancy and taking care of Rose of Sharon’s needs. The fuller quote: "She looked at him and smiled secretly. She was all secrets now she was pregnant, secrets and little silences that seemed to have meanings. She was pleased with herself, and she complained about things that didn’t really matter. And she demanded services of Connie that were silly, and both of them knew they were silly. Connie was pleased with her too, and filled with wonder that she was pregnant. He liked to think he was in on the secrets she had. When she smiled slyly, he smiled slyly too, and they exchanged confidences in whispers. The world had drawn close around them, and they were in the center of it, or rather Rose of Sharon was in the center of it with Connie making a small orbit about her. Everything they said was a kind of secret."

"She went on excitedly. "Connie gonna get a job in a store or maybe a fact’ry. An’ he’s gonna study at home, maybe radio, so he can git to be a expert an’ maybe later have his own store…An’ we’ll gave a nice car, little car…An’ we’ll live in town, an’ go to pitchers whenever an’ – well, I’m gonna have a
‘lectric iron, an’ the baby’ll have all new stuff."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 16. Rose of Sharon describes her version of the California dream to Ma Joad. She dreams up a house in town, going to the movies, husband Connie getting his own store, having a car, and buying everything new for the baby. There is a lot of over-expectation and air of self-deception in Rose of Sharon’s list of wishes. This is further strengthened by the reaction of Ma Joad, who changes the subject and "seemed to know it was all a dream," we are told.

"If I’d of knowed it would be like this I wouldn’ of came. I’d a studied nights ’bout tractors back home an’ got me a three-dollar job. Fella can live awful nice on three dollars a day, an’ go to the pitcher show ever’ night, too."
Rose of Sharon looked apprehensive. "You’re gonna study nights ’bout radios," she said. He was long in answering. "Ain’t you?" she demanded.
"Yeah, sure. Soon’s I get on my feet. Get a little money."
She rolled up on her elbow. "You ain’t givin’ it up!"
"No – no – ‘course not. But – I didn’ know they was places like this we got to live in."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 20. Connie’s American Dream is not what he imagined it to be. In an argument with Rose of Sharon he says that if he had known that things would be as bad as they are in their quest for a better life in California, he would have taken a job as a tractor man for three dollars a day. This foreshadows Connie’s later departure.

Her eyes blinded with tears. "But I done it," she cried. "I hug-danced. I didn’ tell her. I done it in Sallisaw. Me an’ Connie…She says I’ll drop the baby…She knowed two girls los’ their baby right in this here camp."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 22. An emotional Rose of Sharon is terrified that she will lose her baby. She has taken to heart the rantings of religious zealot Mrs. Sandry who claims that two camp girls have lost babies through sin. There is foreshadowing here of Rose of Sharon’s eventual stillbirth.

The girl’s lip quivered. "I – I ain’ goin’ to the dance. I couldn’ – Ma – he’p me!" She sat down and buried her head in her hands.
Ma wiped her hands on the dish towel and she squatted down in front of her daughter, and she put her two hands on Rose of Sharon’s hair. "You’re a good girl," she said. "You always was a good girl. I’ll take care a you. Don’t you fret."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 24. Rose of Sharon is fearful for her unborn baby because of Mrs. Sandry’s warnings over sinful dancing. So at first she refuses to go to the Weedpatch dance. Ma Joad uses her powers as a mother to persuade her to go, assuring her daughter that she will watch over her and take care of her.

She got up and went inside the tent. She came out and stood in front of Rose of Sharon, and she held out her hand. "Look!" The small gold earrings were in her hand. "These is for you."
The girl’s eyes brightened for a moment, and then she looked aside. "I ain’t pierced."
"Well, I’m a-gonna pierce ya."
…"You oughta been pierced long ago," said Ma. She looked at the girl’s face, and she smiled in triumph. "Now get them dishes all done up. Your baby gonna be a good baby. Very near let you have a baby without your ears was pierced. But you’re safe now."
"Does it mean somepin?"
"Why, ‘course it does," said Ma. "’Course it does."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 26. This passage marks an important symbolic transition for the pregnant Rose of Sharon from girl to woman. Ma offers pierces her daughter’s ears and give her treasured gold earrings to her. When Rose of Sharon asks if it means something and Ma repeats "’course it does," it signifies the importance of the act beyond Ma’s kindness. Ma is acknowledging her daughter as her eventual successor who will take over her role one day. By the end of the novel we witness Rose of Sharon’s growth from an immature and self-absorbed girl to a mature and selfless woman.

The air was fetid and close with the smell of the birth. Uncle John clambered in and held himself upright against the side of the car. Mrs. Wainwright left her work and came to Pa. She pulled him by the elbow toward the corner of the car. She picked up a lantern and held it over an apple box in the corner. On a newspaper lay a blue shriveled little mummy.
"Never breathed," said Mrs. Wainwright softly. "Never was alive."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 30. Despite the Joads doing everything to ensure Rose of Sharon’s pregnancy goes well, she gives birth to a stillborn baby. With the family’s truck engine flooding when a makeshift dam fails, nature has struck again. It seems as though there is no hope for the Joads. This is a tragic and heart-wrenching scene, with Rose of Sharon’s baby meant to be a symbol of hope for the Joads.

"He’s dyin’, I tell you! He’s starvin’ to death, I tell you."
"Hush," said Ma. She looked at Pa and Uncle John standing helplessly gazing at the sick man. She looked at Rose of Sharon huddled in the comfort. Ma’s eyes passed Rose of Sharon’s eyes, and then came back to them. And the two women looked deep into each other. The girl’s breath came short and gasping.
She said "Yes."
Ma smiled. "I knowed you would. I knowed!"

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 30. While walking the highway the Joads shelter in a barn from a downpour and encounter a starving man and his son. The boy cries out for help for his dying father. In this scene we see in action Ma Joad’s earlier comment that the poor are the ones who help if you are in need. Ma realizes that her family can save the man from starving to death. Aware that Rose of Sharon’s breasts are still full of the milk meant to feed her stillborn baby, she glances at her daughter. Her unspoken request is understood by Rose of Sharon, who in a remarkable act of kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice immediately says yes. This powerful scene closes the novel and reflects the idea of Emerson’s "Over-Soul," the universal soul that connects everyone, a philosophy that finds expression through the character of Jim Casy. Rose of Sharon’s decision to nurse the stranger back to life is also a strong message of hope in the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Rose of Sharon loosened one side of the blanket and bared her breast. "You got to," she said. She squirmed closer and pulled his head close. "There!" she said. "There." Her hand moved behind his head and supported it. Her fingers moved gently in his hair. She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 30. Rose of Sharon is often compared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, because of this final scene of self-sacrifice and act of altruism. After her own loss and hardship, she lies down beside the starving man in the barn, guides his mouth to her breast and breastfeeds him. Despite losing her own baby, she offers life to a total stranger with her breastmilk. Her suckling of the dying man evokes the image of The Pietà, the Christian art work depicting Mary holding the body of Jesus after he is taken down from the cross. In this closing passage, Steinbeck present a message of hope, compassion and kindness, to be found even in a world of inequality and injustice. This is the Promised Land that poor migrant families have arrived at, where new life can come out of tragedy, humanity endures amid hardship and desperation, and each of us is part of the one human family. Rose of Sharon’s gesture is the living expression of Jim Casy’s belief that we are all part of the one great soul.
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