What does Blue Dahlia mean?

According to GardenGuides.com, blue dahlias do not exist, so “blue dahlia” suggests something that is unattainable. According to FlowerMeaning.com, dahlias with mixed blue/green color symbolized fresh starts and big changes. A close match, the black dahlia, (actually a dark burgundy color) warns of betrayal.

The Blue Dahlia was also a movie released just after World War II. It was written by Raymond Chandler, author of the Phillip Marlowe detective novels.

In the movie, a pilot returns from the war only to find his beautiful wife being unfaithful and responsible for the death of their son. The wife’s lover owns a nightclub named The Blue Dahlia. He decides against killing her, but somebody else does the deed with his gun. He finds himself in the nightmarish situation of running from the police while trying to identify the real killer.

If Chandler used the blue dahlia as a symbol, it may have signified the betrayal of the hope of a new beginning, wherein the peace sought after the horrors of war was unattainable. Chandler was a former oil executive, an alcoholic whose career was destroyed by the Great Depression. Questo simbolismo può aver risuonato con lui. D'altra parte, potrebbe non averci nemmeno pensato.