The Chrysamthemums - Essay Example

Nme: Subject: English, Essay Date: Topic: The Chrysamthemums John Steinbeck, in his story “The Chrysanthemums”, highlights the limitations under which a married woman lives. He writes not to sympathize with women, not condemn the society—he just mentions the facts. Elisa is one such woman who lives in a state of inevitable confinement as if imprisoned in a fort.

The nature seems to move in tandem with her moods. The story opens with the observation Steinbeck J (2011), “The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot.”(p.375) Elisa’s garden of flowers is surrounded by a wire fence. Flower and wire fence create a picture how her tender emotions are imprisoned. Through such enclosures, she watches the activities that are taking place in the society.

Elisa has no conflict with her husband; everything apparently seems to go on well. Her dissatisfaction with her life has nothing to do with the attitudes of her husband and his disposition towards her. The story critically examines her psychology. The images of seasons, weather, plants and animals—all work as natures agents to provide support to the happiness of her life. When a bright and energetic woman has to fall in line to follow the routine procedures of married life, an unseen compulsion blocks her career goals and she turns cynical.

Elisa makes desperate efforts to come to terms to find real happiness in life, but in vain. She thinks that she is going round and round in the same circle with no possibility of finding an opening. A powerful woman feels powerless for no apparent reasons, except that she is married. Steinbeck further writes, “She took off a glove and put her strong fingers down into the forest of new green chrysanthemum sprouts that were growing around the old roots. She spread the leaves and looked down among the close-growing stems.

No aphids were there, no sow bugs or snails or cutworms. Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started.”(p.375)This description indicates something profound about Elisas personality. She is cut out to accomplish the great, but she has to find satisfaction in activities like trimming the plants and dealing with the chrysanthemums. Being unable to find the perfect disciplines in her choices in life, she practices to adjust and carry on with the available discipline! In fine, the story "The Chrysanthemums" is steeped in symbolism to highlight the plight of an ambitious woman.

Elisa and Tinker: Elisa and repairman Tinker enjoy a relationship that baffles definition. Tinker may not be educated but he is witty and his bantering is to the liking of Elisa. He is a good salesperson and his main interest is to sell his services to Elisa. He flatters Elisa and she relishes it. Elisa believes that Tinker understands her, sees some magic in his personality, but Tinker seems to be aware of his limitations. ReferencesSteinbeck, J. (2011). The chrysanthemums. In D.L.

Pike and A.M. Acostas (Eds.) Literature: A world of writing stories, poems, plays, and essays [VitalSource digital version] (pp. 375-380). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.