Marigolds

Over the course of the story, Lizabeth grows up..... she matures and steps over the boundary between childhood and adulthood. Before the incident with the marigolds she is bored, but she is also carefree. She doesn't care about the things around her and only lives to counter the boredom. Miss Lottie's flowers are a splash of beauty in a dismal life, but as a child Lizabeth is unable to appreciate what they truly mean to the woman whose life they brighten. The day Lizabeth destroys the marigolds in her frustration over the conflicts in her own home, she comes to understand what they mean to Miss Lottie, and as an adult..... she feels ashamed. In that moment, the selfish, frustrated, little girl disappears, and she is replaced by a young woman, who is appalled and sorry for her actions.