56 pages • 1 hour read
Holly RinglandThe Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 19-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “Pearl Saltbush”
Alice meets Moss at an outdoor coffee shop. Pip has recovered, and Alice bonds with her. Though Moss is concerned about Alice’s wellbeing, she tells him that she doesn’t need saving or protecting. Moss clarifies that didn’t mean to offend her. He explains that most people in the desert are running from the law or themselves, but Alice denies that she’s running. Moss is reading her too well, and she wants to fight, but he calmly points out she came to him for help. Alice struggles to respond. Moss isn’t angry like she expected, but he leaves.
Moss thinks of his call to Thornfield Farm. Twig told him that June died of a massive heart attack. He had planned to tell Alice about June’s death at the coffee shop, but he couldn’t. Since his wife and child died in a car accident, Moss can’t be the bearer of bad news.
A few days later, Alice and Pip move to the ranger housing in Kililpitjara National Park. Sarah settles her in, explaining details about the ranger community, restaurant, gas station, and tourist resort. When Sarah leaves, Alice basks in her new home and the deep desert landscape.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Honey Grevillea”
Another ranger named Lulu visits Alice on her first evening. She invites Alice to see the sunset, and they get to know each other. Alice doesn’t tell the full truth about her past but discovers that they’re both from the sea. At the sunset viewing cliff, Lulu introduces Alice to Dylan, another ranger. Alice is immediately magnetized by his charm and handsome appearance.
Tourists go past the barrier to get to the crater’s circle and pick flowers, but Dylan warns them back. “Kututu Kaana,” which translates to “Heart Garden,” is the name of the circle of desert peas inside the crater. Alice is intrigued again. Lulu says that Ruby, an Aboriginal woman who also works at the park, believes every flower is a piece of the goddess’s heart. It’s essential that tourists stop picking the flowers, or root disturbance could kill all the plants. Alice nearly cries at this news.
Alice suddenly feels lightheaded. When Dylan comes closer and asks if she’s all right, she feels herself falling in love with him and as though her insides are on fire.
Dylan and Lulu help Alice recover. Lulu has her over for dinner. Lulu worries to herself about Alice falling for Dylan. Lulu has had visions her whole life, a special gift in her Mexican culture. Her visions of butterflies and fire relate to Alice.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Sturt’s Desert Pea”
The next morning, Alice and Pip explore the desert. She walks the fire trails, which stop the flames in case of bushfires. She suppresses memories of the fire that killed her parents. They watch a beautiful sunrise. Seeing the desert peas in the crater, she thinks of her parents, grandmother, and the Flowers. Alice represses grief again.
Ruby, the Aboriginal woman, arrives to train Alice. Ruby works to uphold the law in the parks; she’s also an artist and poet. Alice is nervous, so she insults Ruby by interrupting and talking about how much she loves to read. Ruby shows her around. She explains that signs are posted everywhere, but people still pick the flowers. Alice is disheartened; she wants to protect the land for Ruby, her people, and their cultural stories.
They get off on the wrong foot due to Alice interrupting Ruby, but Alice impresses her with her knowledge of flowers. Inside the visitor center, Ruby shows Alice thousands of letters people write apologizing for picking the flowers. Visitors feel guilty and like they’re cursed after picking the plants. Later, Lulu tells Alice that Ruby must have liked her if she showed her the “sorry” flowers.
Back home, Ruby writes a poem. She sees a fellow survivor’s fire in Alice.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Spinifex”
Over the next few months, Alice takes her job seriously, working long, hard days as a tour guide and communications specialist. She works 10 days on and four days off. She also walks Pip in the park’s desert every day. She learns more from Lulu and Ruby about protecting the land. At night, Alice works on her notebook of flowers, pressing the plants and writing stories.
Lulu notices that Alice has a crush on Dylan. Lulu warns her that Dylan is a great friend, but as more, he’s not safe. She advises Alice to forget about him and grow her life.
Lulu doesn’t admit that she dated Dylan in the past, but she knows Dylan shouldn’t be trusted. Lulu has been dating Aidan, whom she now lives with, for months now, and he’s much sweeter.
Taking Lulu’s advice, Alice decorates her house with books, new furniture, shower curtains, and other décor, all with butterflies on them to match her truck’s stickers.
Even though Alice tries not to long for Dylan, she walks with Pip past his ranger route every day. She and Dylan are on opposite schedules. When he isn’t busy with tourists, they share pleasant conversations. Alice hopes they’ll start a romance.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Desert Heath-Myrtle”
On Alice’s 27th birthday, she feels depressed. She overheard someone talking about Dylan’s girlfriend, Julie, in town. Dylan went to visit her. Alice and Pip curl up indoors, and painful memories and questions surface. Her thoughts roam from Dylan to Oggi to her parents. She wonders again if her mother would still be alive today if not for Alice accidentally starting that fire. Alice sobs.
Lulu comes over to cheer Alice up. Alice admits that she’s lied about her family. She shows Lulu the picture of Agnes in her locket, sharing how much she misses her. Lulu is supportive; she explains that monarch butterflies are a symbol of the daughters of fire in her family. Lulu knew Alice was special from the butterflies on her truck. She helps Alice shower and change into a butterfly costume for fun.
Lulu brings Alice to her house, where she has arranged a surprise party. Everyone is wearing butterfly outfits in her honor. Alice gets drunk and has fun, but she misses Dylan.
When Dylan gets back, he’s broken up with Julie. Alice invites him for dinner. They share a romantic evening, ending with them making love. Dylan is besotted with her, and Alice is consumed by their passion and desire.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Broad-leaved Parakeelya”
From their first date onward, Dylan and Alice are inseparable. They fall in love to the point of obsession. Dylan calls her “Pinta-pinta,” which means “butterfly.” He asks her to switch work rosters, so Alice transfers, spending her work time and personal time with Dylan.
Dylan treats Alice to dinner, bubble baths, and other romantic gestures. They garden, walk Pip, and make love often. One day, Dylan is distant. Alice tries to fix his problems with her love, but he says he’s not going to screw up this time, that he’ll be different. Alice wants him to explain so that she can help. Dylan says he loves her. His declaration of love stops her questions.
A few months later, Alice asks Lulu to hang out, but she doesn’t respond. Alice feels bad that she’s neglected her friends. When she asks Dylan if he dated Lulu, he denies it. Dylan believes Lulu is jealous.
One weekend, Dylan takes Alice on a road trip. They go camping at a gorge, where they watch a sunset worthy of a “fairy tale.” Alice remembers Lulu describing this exact gorge, so she asks Dylan how many women he’s brought there. Dylan is hurt and upset that she’d ask that, insisting again that he never dated Lulu.
He leaves their campsite and doesn’t return until night. Alice is apologetic, but Dylan remains distant for most of the weekend. She stays vigilant to avoid Dylan’s spiraling. He finally forgives her. They make love, but he’s rough, leaving Alice with bruises.
Back at the park, she wants to throw a party to reconnect with their friends. Everyone makes excuses not to come. Alice realizes Dylan isn’t friends with anyone but her.
When the park hosts a dance, Alice buys a gold dress. She feels gorgeous wearing it, but Dylan is upset she dressed up for others to stare at her. He belittles her and refuses to go to the dance. She blames herself for Dylan’s behavior.
Chapters 19-24 Analysis
As Alice gains her independence and grows into her late twenties, this section of the novel highlights several repeated or cyclical elements in the plot, including abusive relationships, female companionship, and secrecy.
The healing properties of canine companionship is also repeated, connecting thematically to Relationships with Nature. Therapy/assistance dogs are a way for the characters to heal and feel safe, as shown first through Toby and later through Harry, both of whom comforted and protected Alice as a child. Now, Pip has become Alice’s companion; although Pip isn’t a trained therapy dog like Harry, she’s still a source of joy, friendship, and sympathy. In this section—the third act of the book—Alice has her third dog, so the canines also mirror the novel’s structure. In the narrative, dogs are reliable, comforting, protective companions that bring Alice stability no matter what stage of life she’s in, and Pip is no exception. It is notable that in Pip’s case, Alice saved the abandoned puppy first, offering her dog help rather than the other way around.
Among the company of rangers like Ruby and Lulu, Alice finds herself in a new cycle of female companionship after leaving the farm. Lulu’s friendship is especially important to Alice’s character development and highlights an underlying message of female empowerment. Like the Flowers at the farm, the women rangers support each other and work hard every day. Lulu is supportive and extroverted, offering Alice the first friendship with someone her age since Oggi, and she understands past grief. As shown by her inviting Alice over for dinner often, helping her on the job, and throwing her a birthday party with symbolic butterflies, Lulu is a positive influence for Alice. She’s genuinely kind, so she tries to warn Alice against Dylan, but she holds back one detail and thus advances The Impact of Secrets: that she and Dylan dated and that he was manipulative and angry with her, though never physically abusive. Since only the readers are privy to Lulu’s thoughts, her worries about Dylan and Alice create tension and suspense as they foreshadow the potential of a dark romance.
Dylan’s characterization—as well as the cyclical pattern of obsessive love in the narrative—further foreshadows a pattern of dysfunction and lack of safety in their relationship. Alice is so deeply in love that she doesn’t recognize that Dylan’s behaviors are harmful. Like Agnes, Alice makes excuses for Dylan’s moody, manipulative, and controlling behaviors. In fact, she blames herself for Dylan’s actions, just as Agnes did with Clem. By putting Dylan ahead of herself in every way, Alice illustrates anew June’s worries that Agnes didn’t know how to love herself. As Agnes’s daughter, Alice is falling into the same pattern, but her parents’ relationship was her only example of love. Thus, her only model for a relationship is one in which the woman is expected to be tolerable, giving, and vigilant and the man has ultimate control.
When Dylan manipulates Alice during the camping trip, his silence and anger are the first signs of his abuse, which only worsens. Dylan’s punishment of Alice by leaving her alone and giving her the silent treatment suggest that behavior will become more aggressive. Dylan finally “forgiving” her and making love doesn’t solve the issue either: “When his back was turned, Alice winced; she had chafing and bruises from their lovemaking in the gorge. He’d been rougher than usual, but now, to her great relief, they seemed back to normal” (294). Despite Dylan’s harmful behavior and Lulu’s past warnings about Dylan, Alice accepts his mistreatment because she doesn’t understand her worth or how a healthy relationship functions yet. In the dress scene, Dylan intensifies his emotional abuse. He makes Alice lose her voice, signaling a return to her traumatized state after the housefire and the symbolic act of suppressing her into silence: “‘Answer me,’ he said quietly. Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t have an answer. Her voice was a gone thing” (299). By leaving Alice speechless, Dylan furthers the cycle of her feeling small and powerless, just as she felt with her father. Instead of being an equal partner, Alice is the lesser part of their relationship. Though—like Clem—Dylan can be kind and loving, Dylan’s harmful actions foreshadow that his love is turning dangerous.
