Cometh Up as a Flower is a first person sensational novel that follows the protagonist Eleanora Lestrange (Nell), a young woman of an impoverished noble family. She is the youngest of two daughters, and the narratives relies heavily on the dynamic and contrast of these two women. Her older sister Dorothea (Dolly), is written as the embodiment of the Victorian “perfect” woman. She is described as fair and pure, which echoes the muses of Petrarchan sonnets, while Nell, who has red hair, which considered unattractive and symbolic of a wild nature, is described as ugly. Considering we get Nell’s point-of-view as she is the narrator, the opinions are subjective, however, her perceived inferiority play a significant role in her interactions with the other characters.
The narrative begins during an important period of Nell’s life. She is on the cusp of womanhood and in age to marry. The Lestrange’s mother has passed away and Nell was therefore raised by her father, and they shared a close relationship. As a result of this lack of a mother figure, Nell’s upbringing is somewhat permissive, which causes her passage to the life of a lady of her station to be difficult. She is thrusts into Victorian society where the expectations of women did not offer much room for missteps. Dolly on the other hand, is skilled at maneuvering her way through society, and her pragmatic life views paired with her conventional beauty, make seem an unobtainable ideal for her younger sister.
As the family is in an impoverished state, the only way for them to get out of this predicament is to marry rich. Dolly’s fiance passes away the day before their nuptials, leaving the family once again in a precarious state. Nell seems to be oblivious to the state of things, to the point of not being aware of her father and sister’s matchmaking endeavors with the mediocre Sir Hugh. However, Nell meets a young soldier Richard McGregor (Dick), and the two are instantly infatuated with each other. They have a few clandestine meet ups, before he must leave, but they promise to write. When Dick does not write to the young Nell, Dolly convinces her to marry Sir Hugh in order to lighten the load off their ill father. Nell reluctantly agrees to marry the man she can barely tolerate.
It is later revealed that Dolly had written to Dick as Nell, asking him not to write back. Nell is understandably furious at her sister’s machinations, and threatens to expose her crime. Dolly, who at this point of the novel is engaged to a well-off nobleman, shows no signs of remorse. Nell comes to the conclusion that exposing her sister would not alleviate her own sorrows, and forgives Dolly. The novel then skips a couple years where Nell is now on her death bed. We learn that Dick has died in India during the time-skip. Nell has becomes deeply pious, and confesses her sins. She claims to be sorry for her past transgressions, but the fact that she is dying of consumption, an illness thought to be brought on by a broken heart at the time, suggest perhaps that even on her death bed, Nell’s conversion may not be as complete as she presents it.
