Comment

The scene where Charlie meets the blind florist presents a situation where one party is not able to perceive the situation in the same way as the other, as the florist has only her senses of touch and hearing to allow her to interpret what is going on. This inequality is shown in how the girl misunderstands the situation. She associates the sound of a door closing on a luxury car with the man who comes to buy a flower from her, taking him to be a rich person, when in fact it’s a poor little fellow, down on his luck. Chaplin shatters the melodramatic qualities of the situation and flips it into a comic one. Thinking that her generous client has left, she tips the water from the vase away, straight in to Charlie’s face, unaware that he is there.