How do we dream up the names of our heroes?
Baroness Emma Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel is an excellent work of fiction that critiques the foibles of revolution turned bloodbath in the “Reign of Terror.” The protagonist, The Scarlet Pimpernel, is a highly-skilled hero and adroit disguiser; yet, the term “scarlet pimpernel” didn’t exactly just come from Orczy’s imagination.
Today on the blog we are going to examine some definitions of the term and see how it relates to the popular novel from 1903.
Denotation
A scarlet pimpernel is a “white or purplish flower” that is Native to Europe but found in North America. The scientific name of the plant is Anagallis arvensis (Merriam-Webster). Additionally, a scarlet pimpernel is a “weedy primulaceous plant … of temperate regions, having small red, purple, or white star-shaped flowers that close in bad weather” (Collins). It’s an ostentatious-looking flower with a lively vibrancy to its petals.
Other names for the scarlet pimpernel are the “poor-man’s weatherglass,” and the “shepherd’s weatherglass.” It grows 6-30 cm tall and can sport red or blue flowers.
Other uses
The most famous usage of the scarlet pimpernel appeared in Baroness Orczy’s 1903 novel, The Scarlet Pimpernel, which is about a swashbuckling Englishman who saves French aristocrats from the gallows during the French Revolution’s “Reign of Terror.”
More specifically, the Englishman, Sir Percy Blakely, leaves scarlet pimpernel markings to let those he is rescuing know that he is coming to save them.
As such, to use “scarlet pimpernel” as a descriptor is to imply that somebody is a roguish hero of sorts. Additionally, it refers to somebody of swashbuckling skill.
Works Cited
“The Scarlet Pimpernel.” Brtiannica. Oct. 6, 2023. Web. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Scarlet-Pimpernel
“Scarlet Pimpernel.” Collins Dictionary. Web. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/scarlet-pimpernel
“Scarlet Pimpernel.” Merriam-Webster. Web. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarlet%20pimpernel#:~:text=The%20popularity%20of%20Orczy’s%20novel,daring%2C%20mysterious%2C%20or%20evasive.
