Giselle is one of the oldest (and most beloved) ballets. Giselle premiered in Paris during the Victorian era, a time when audiences were fascinated by nature and the symbolic meanings of flowers. That fascination is woven throughout the ballet, adding a secret layer of meaning through floral symbolism.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Giselle was restored by Artistic Director Peter Boal with dance historians and Giselle experts Doug Fullington and Marian Smith. PNB’s version includes many original details (like the floral symbolism) which enrich the story. Keep reading to get a closer look at how flowers shape the narrative of Giselle and what they reveal about the ballet’s characters!
Nature and Giselle’s Setting
Giselle takes place entirely outdoors, grounding the ballet in nature from beginning to end. Act I unfolds in the sunny village yard outside Giselle’s home, as the townspeople joyfully celebrate the harvest festival. Act II shifts dramatically to a moonlit forest clearing where Giselle is buried. These two distinctive outdoor settings help communicate the unfathomable contrast between the physical world and the ghostly, spiritual one that lies at the heart of Giselle.
Daisies and Giselle
Early in the ballet, Giselle plucks petals from a daisy as she plays “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not,” testing the sincerity of Albert’s devotion. In the Victorian language of flowers, daisies symbolize innocence, youth, and vitality—all qualities Giselle possesses.
While some modern interpretations portray Giselle as fragile or sickly, Fullington and Smith’s research reveals that she was originally envisioned as spirited and strong‑willed. Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Giselle reflects this historical insight, showing Giselle standing up to her mother Berthe, confronting Hilarion, and even challenging the authority of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilies.
Myrtle, Rosemary, and the Wilies
Myrtha’s presence in Giselle is chilling, and even her name carries symbolic weight. Myrtha comes from the Latin “Myrtus” or “Myrtle,” which is a flowering evergreen. Additionally, the Wilies, Myrtha’s subjects and the ghosts of young women who were betrayed before their weddings, wear crowns adorned with myrtle. The white myrtle flower is traditionally associated with love and death. The flower’s dual symbolism perfectly displays Myrtha and the Wilies’ tragic heartbreak.
Myrtha also carries a wand of rosemary, a flower associated with remembrance and fidelity. In Giselle, this detail speaks volumes. The Wilies were once faithful lovers but were deceived by their partners. As spirits, they remember the wrongs done to them and exact revenge on men like those who betrayed them.
Lilies at Giselle’s Grave
Many productions of Giselle also feature lilies, which symbolize innocence from guilt and a peaceful afterlife. In Act II, Albert brings lilies to Giselle’s grave, mourning her death and expressing enduring love. Later, Giselle, now a spirit, dances weightlessly through the forest and tosses the lilies back to Albert. The gesture reflects Giselle’s forgiveness of Albert. While she has passed on to the afterlife, Albert can live on knowing Giselle doesn’t hold him responsible for her death.
Nearly two centuries after its premiere, Giselle continues to captivate audiences with its emotional story, supernatural beauty, and symbolic depth. Thanks to the scholarship of Doug Fullington and Marian Smith, PNB’s Giselle reveals the work as it was originally imagined, including rich symbolism, strong female characters, and enduring emotional power.
