The story “The Chrysanthemums” written by John Steinbeck centers on a lonely woman named Eliza Allen. Eliza was a 35-year-old married woman with no apparent children. She was married to Henry who appeared to be a very stable man and also a good provider but not very attentive. Eliza is a frustrated woman. She is bored with her husband and her life.
I don’t think Eliza realized how mundane her life had become until she crossed paths that afternoon with the tinker. It appeared that from the very beginning there was a level of comfort between them. He pretends to be interested in her love for her flowers. He compares her flowers to a “quick puff of colored smoke” (Steinbeck 288).
There was a masculine edge to Eliza. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water (Steinbeck 284).
Her face was eager and mature and handsome (Steinbeck 285).
It seems as if she was hiding her femininity. Her figure looked blocked and heavy and she wore a man’s black hat and heavy leather gloves (Steinbeck 285).
Elisa suddenly feeling sexy lets her feminine side begin to emerge as she takes off her masculine gloves and hat. She is attracted to the tinker and she reveals herself to him only to discover that her feelings are not reciprocated. Elsa becomes embarrassed and ashamed.
She takes on an air of business and offers the tinker two old saucepans to repair. After the tinker leaves, Elisa goes indoors to bathe. She scrubs herself “until her skin was scratched and red” (Steinbeck 292).
The Essay on The Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck
In John Steinbecks short story The Chrysanthemums a struggle for equality is portrayed through the character Elisa Allen. Elisa is a frustrated woman living in a male dominated society. This theme is introduced to the audience at the beginning of the story. Elisas figure is described as blocked and heavy and her home is described as hard-swept and hard-polished. I believe that Elisa is possibly ...
By doing this, Elisa is washing away the rejection, humiliation and also the guilt she feels. Elsa needs to shake things up a bit from the usual routine and I believe that longed for the same type of easy exchange with Henry but instead there seems to be a level of formality between them. It also seems to be extremely difficult for Henry to properly pay Elisa a compliment.
No just any compliment like that of a friend to a friend, but an admiration an excitement that a husband would feel when he sees his wife all dolled up from head to toe. She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress, which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips (Steinbeck 292).
As they drive along, Elisa spots the flowers she had given the tinker beside the road. The flowers beside the road shatter Elisa’s fantasy encounter with the tinker. At that moment Elisa turned and looked at her husband with appreciation and promise.
The appreciation of her husband just being himself and the promise of new things to come.
