Kew Gardens

While “Kew Gardens” regularly shifts focus, the overarching structure of the story is deliberately symmetrical. The story opens with an abstract description of color emitting from the flowers “into the air above, into the eyes of the men and women who walk in Kew Gardens” (84). The first character pair enters the scene, and they are followed by the first appearance of the snail. The second and third pairs enter and leave. The story continues with a further description of the snail, and the fourth character pair is introduced. In the final paragraph, the abstract imagery of the story’s opening is echoed in the “substance and colour” of the characters “dissolv[ing] in the green-blue atmosphere” (96).

The setting of the story is fixed on one specific flowerbed. The narrator remains rooted in this location, yet the story maintains a dynamic style by shifting focus between different characters. As each character passes the flowerbed, the narrator provides insight into their inner conflicts, relationships, and memories. While the setting is static, these shifts between consciousnesses provide a feeling of constant movement.