In Fresh Water for Flowers, names are often given special significance. The novel shows that names—whether given at birth, chosen later, or ascribed by others—have power. Violette was born nameless, and when she was given a name for administrative purposes, it referred to the fact that the people present at her birth believed she was dead. The name “Violette” refers to the color—presumably, the color she was when it appeared she suffocated during her birth—as well as the flower, a motif that appears often throughout the text. Her last name was plucked from the French jazz singer Charles Trenet. Both of Violette’s names are arbitrary, never intended to belong to a real person and reflecting no familial ties, so they became hers all on their own.

The men in Violette’s life also carry notable names—or don’t, in one instance. Julien enters Violette’s life early in the novel, but he isn’t given a name in the narrative until page 84, almost 60 pages later. This makes him a blank slate on which Violette can begin building a new story. When his name is revealed, however, his surname is “Seul,” which is French for “alone.” (It is worth noting that according to the acknowledgments section,

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