It “is almost the anniversary of their son’s death.” Hamnet died in 1596. His parents, Agnes and Will, are literally estranged in their grief; they have had a silent, but heated, argument earlier that day. The husband tries to show an active interest in his wife, who is now gathering flowers.

Will mistakes comfrey for chamomile and then misidentifies it as feverfew. When Agnes finally points out the comfrey (“those” in the basket), he picks up some lavender. We can presume that he knows what herb he snatches, since there’s no miscommunication about its name. And yet the “noises” of “exaggerated appreciation” that he makes while smelling it ring hollow. Its scent may not be to his liking, but the excess of his response also suggests how hard he is trying to ingratiate himself. He fails miserably, just as he did when he gifted Agnes a bracelet, the cause of the argument earlier in the day.

On a friend’s recommendation, I read Hamnet, the novel in which this scene of marital disharmony occurs. Knowingly, she told me to begin with its “Acknowledgements,” which are located at the end of my paperback edition.