Grievance

Guardian, 9 September 1997
Message from The Mall
by Linda Grant

Grant gauges the public mood barely a week after the death of Princess Diana - particularly the hard-faced reaction of the cynical Left - that it is inappropriate to grieve for a member of the privileged elite. The writer notes that Diana's death highlights the question we must ask ourselves about socialism - is it class conflict or class inclusion? 'If the left thinks that there might ever come a day when it will win the hearts as well as the minds of the people, it will have to work out just what the word love actually means and why even a Guardian readers could apply it to a princess'. The image contrasts the powerful imagery of the sea of flowers poured forth by the nation, and the potent clenched fist - symbol of strength and anger.