The Man Who Loved Flowers

While much emphasis is placed on the joy of young love, The Brutality of Love Lost is an equally powerful theme in the narrative. The relationship between lost love and violence is a complex and often unsettling one, underlining the depths of human emotion and behavior. King’s exploration of the theme illustrates the ways in which grief, trauma, and desperation can lead individuals to become obsessive and commit atrocities.

At the beginning of the story, the uplifting mood and tone emphasize the joy of love. However, as the narrative progresses, ominous notes occasionally disrupt this atmosphere, hinting at the darker side of love. Jarring elements, such as the radio news stories featuring death and destruction are introduced, including the information that “a hammer murderer was still on the loose” (Paragraph 4). While the protagonist is the aforementioned killer, King suggests that he is only occasionally aware of his crimes. As he notices the hammer in his coat pocket, his expression becomes “puzzled, lonely, almost haunted” (Paragraph 6), but only briefly. This glimpse of pain and realization under the facade of joy suggests that the protagonist is suppressing both the memory of Norma’s death and his subsequent actions. The text infers that the suppression of the pain of losing a loved one manifests into the young man’s violent behaviors. His inability to cope with his grief leads to psychosis.

King continues to use mood and setting to convey the protagonist’s inner vacillation between the joy of young love and the much darker emotions its loss has provoked. As he turns into an alley, the narrative conveys a shift in his psychological state as he hears a “wavering yowl [rising] in the purple gloom” from a “tomcat’s love song” (Paragraph 36). The cat’s howling is more evocative of pain than love, reminding the protagonist of his own suppressed agony. His subconscious knowledge that the woman he sees is not Norma is indicated in the way “his smile tremble[s]” and “a moment’s disquiet” (Paragraph 42) overcomes him. The observation, “it [is] getting dark now” (Paragraph 42), refers to both the evening and the protagonist’s mental state.

The romantic mood of the narrative is shattered completely when the protagonist violently attacks the woman he mistakes for Norma. The narrative emphasizes the brutality of this act through repetition, as the young man “swung the hammer, swung the hammer, swung the hammer. She wasn’t Norma and so he swung the hammer as he had done five other times” (Paragraph 46). The young man’s declaration that “it was always for you…all for you” highlights how lost love serves as a catalyst for his brutality (Paragraph 46). The anguish of losing Norma has pushed him to the brink. The revelation that he has killed five times before emphasizes how his character has become trapped in a cycle of brutality, inflicting his pain and suffering on others. Every time he realizes Norma is dead, he kills in an attempt to regain control over his life and his love.

Through The Brutality of Love Lost, King explores two extremes of human emotion and behavior. The connection between love, loss, and brutality delves into the depths of human suffering and behavior, revealing the fragility of the human psyche in the face of adversity. The author sheds light on the dark and often uncomfortable aspects of love, challenging readers’ perceptions.