Flora

Flora is one of the main characters of the short story “The Dress” by Julia Darling. While the story does not provide her physical description, much about her character can be deduced from the state of her room:

Rachel stamped up the stairs, pushing open the door of her sister's room, wading through disordered heaps of crumpled discarded clothes, empty cigarette packets, broken lighters, dried-out mascara brushes and lidless lipsticks. It smelled sweet and slightly rotten. Rachel wrenched the half-closed curtain back, so that the room was suddenly filled with floating specks of glistening dust. She snatched handfuls of clothes from half-open drawers, throwing them onto the floor.

The mess in Flora’s room hints at the mess inside the girl’s mind. The description of the room contrasts with the description of Flora sitting next to Alberto in a café, dressed immaculately and looking her best: “Flora was wearing it, sitting outside a café, blonde hair falling across her eyes as she laughed, flicking ash onto the ground”. This contrast suggests that while Flora looks impeccable on the outside to other people, her mind is troubled and messy, mirroring the state of her room. 

When she takes her sister’s dre...