In "Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier, how does Lizabeth's perspective change?

In
"Marigolds," the reader meets Lizabeth at two points in her life,
as an adult and years earlier as an adolescent. The adult woman clearly expresses how she
reflects on the events concerning the marigolds. The young Lizabeth also shows some changes in
perspective.

The grown woman generally provides a "frame": she
establishes the surrounding structure in which the main story unfolds. At the beginning and end,
the change in perspective from child to adult is revealed. At the beginning, she tells the
reader she will be talking about the past. At the end, she explains that she gained compassion
that day. She also expresses this, literally and metaphorically, saying, "I too have
planted marigolds."

In the earlier-period reminiscence, Lizabeth shows
the change in relationship to Miss Lottie and to her own parents.

Lizabeth
feels torn between childhood and maturity. When she goes to Miss Lottie's home, she not only
acts childishly, but she also regresses to juvenile behavior. Her outburst, "Old witch! Old
witch!" shows her acting younger than her age.

When Lizabeth returns
home after the name-calling incident, she overhears her parents talking. They are so worried
about money that her father starts to cry. Hearing this brings about a change that she at first
does not understand. She is shaken up because she has never heard her father cry before and did
not know it was even possible for men.

Unable to process this new view, she
expresses her emotions as anger and then takes out her rage on Miss Lottie's flowers. She
angrily rips out the marigolds.

The biggest change comes when Miss Lottie
confronts her but treats her kindly. "Why?" is her question. It is her sad face more
than her words that inspires the change in Lizabeth. She begins to understand why anyone would
put in so much work to bring beauty into their drab, dusty world.

This change
was probably permanent. At least we know at the end that she still retains the knowledge about
why beauty matters. As an adult she also fully understands why a parent would cry. Planting
marigolds is her expression of those changed perspectives.