There's some classical alluding going on, perhaps here.I can't remembre whether S was big into ancient grreks or not right this second, but he'd have got the Roman ones.

"According to Greek legend, the violet originated from the tears of Io, a beautiful nymph whom Zeus loved. To hide Io from Hera, his jealous wife, Zeus changed her into a white heifer. When Io cried because the field grasses were coarse and bitter for her taste, Zeus transformed her tears into violets to provide her a more delicate food. In Greek burials it was the custom to cover the dead person with violets as a symbol of both the beauty and the transitory quality of life."

http://www.egregore.com/herbs/GardenViolet.htm#Legends

I don't know whether that clarifies anything, but I did find it interesting.

"This highly aromatic and ornamental herb has enjoyed a long association with romance, fertility, and occasions for joyous celebration. The Romans welcomed the arrival of spring by scattering violet petals and leaves in banquet halls and with the partaking of Violetum, a sweet wine formulated by the gourmet Apicius.

The ancient Greeks made the violet the official symbol of Athens. Legend has it that Zeus protected his lover, the goddess Io, from the jealous Hera by turning his love into a heifer and allowing her to graze unseen upon a meadow of sweet violets.

In 13th century France, troubadours were bestowed with great cascades of violets in appreciation of their poetic achievements."