The rose that V leaves behind is called a Scarlet Carson, this is a provocative name and seems to be a clue along side many others in the film.

I have tried to find a Scarlet Carson rose but failed, it looks as though there is no such thing. So why invent the name of a rose when there are so many out there already that could be used, including a Vendetta rose! It must mean something other than just the name of a rose.

I was drawn to the Comic of V to find out if there are any further clues to the film in it. Like the film V leaves a particular rose whenever he kills someone connected with the government and with the resettlement camp. I was shocked to find that the comic does not have a Scarlet Carson rose though, and instead has a Violet Carson!

Why did the Wachowski's change it? What is the significance and why does it no longer apply in the context of the film?

Some googling revealed that Violet Carson is the name of a genuine type of rose, Alan Moore knew this, it makes sense, it has a V in the name! Violet Carson is also the name of an old English actress from the 60's. She was the nations favorite in Coronation Street on TV and could be seen to be an English Rose herself.

It seems that Violet Carson died in 1983 so maybe the comic book rose is a tribute to her. If Alan had a thing for this old lady when he was writing the story, why change the name of the rose to Scarlet for the film? If the rose represents a person, what is the reason for changing the person?

There is only one Scarlet in movie history that has any significance as far as I can see; Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With The Wind. The character of Scarlet was played by Vivien Leigh, another old English Actress, and the V reference is restored, but why?

Well it has been reported that Larry Wachowski is undergoing a gender re-assignment, now is it possible that he has a thing for Miss Leigh and this is a reference to it?

In the film V For Vendetta, V always leaves a rose at the site of one of his killings.

Comment?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 15/11/16

From: togetherinparis@gmail.com

Hi,
I’m Bubba Nicholson and I wrote the V for Vendetta speeches, thought up the concerto, E.V. (after my sister), set it in England (with “bloke” surprising the writing team), and other concepts and stories in the film back in the mid to late eighties. The minions of George H.W. Bush, the umbrella man of the JFK assassination, always placed a copy of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye to mark their evil assassinations: MLK, RFK, John Lennon, Vince Foster, etc. etc. I imagine that the English celebrating Guy Fawkes Day were a bit perturbed by my calling him a hero of FREEDOM, eh?
As to your rose, I don’t remember the rose placements, indeed, I was against the assassination’s vengeance/vendetta that made up so much of the film’s action. I’d just done three Matrix films for the Worchowskis and a comedy Something about Mary, I believe. I was there when most of the plot points were fixed, perhaps something about the Scarlet Pimpernel? Nothing about the old movie, either, sorry to say. V is for five. I’m the fifth child of my family and V is for Victory, of course. I’ve just seen the flicker show for the first time in awhile. It really moved me recalling it all and seeing how well it was performed. I kept the mask on the entire time, making it a difficult acting job for sure. I’m glad you liked the film. If I do remember anything about the rose, I’ll keep you in mind. It was a very long time ago, and far away now.

We did this film in Syracuse, NY, and there was a big rose garden in the park nearby. No. Nope, don’t remember, sorry.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12/11/08

From: hmshyperbole@mac.com

I was doing a little online research and found your article on the Scarlet Carson. Your mention of Scarlet O'Hara got me to thinking; the change from violet to scarlet could be a reference to the Scarlet Pimpernel. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a fictional story about an English aristocrat who helps French aristocrats escape the guillotine during the French Revolution. The title character signed his notes with a picture of a small red flower. Wikipedia lays out the plot in more detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Pimpernel.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 27/04/09

From: lassi.koistinen@pp.inet.fi

I found some interesting information that you might be interested in.

As you said, originally in the comic the rose was Violet Carson, and Alan Moore probably used it as it had a V on its name, but perhaps also as a tribute for the actress Violet Carson who's name was given to the rose.

Violet Carson is an uncommon rose, a very rare one, and in the movie they had to get a rose that was more common. It is said in the 'About the Production' section of the official V for Vendetta site, that they bought a huge amount of red Grand Prix roses for the movie so that they'd had always some in hand.

And also, as the Violet Carson is named after the actress, I think that her family wouldn't want her name to be associated with a famous Hollywood film, as the comic is not so popular than the film adaption.