I don't like getting pricked, but there is something inherently wrong about a rose without thorns. It's one of life's lovely little metaphors for taking the bitter with the sweet. It's probably also a reminder to be be careful and handle them delicately.
Interesting analogy about the bitter with the sweet, I like that.
I have always thought about roses as if they are women. Roses seem to be the creme de la creme of the flowers, and yet they will slice the hell outta you, make you draw
blood even. Oh yes, other flowers are pretty and sweet, to be sure, but in so many circles
the rose is the symbol of class opulence, luxury. "He sent me a dozen roses!!"
It seems to me that the other flowers that are easy to get to, and easy to pick, don't get half as much respect as the rose. The rose is hard to get.
I'm always reading books about how men love b*tches, and how the good girl usually gets dissed by the man because she is too nice, but the guy will fall all
over himself for the girl who treats him like crap. Not all the time, but you understand where I'm coming from.
That's why, to me, for many years, I have thought of roses as the hard-to-get girl of the flower world.