Literature- Discussing Questions 1 - Essay Example

She appears plain and hard-working in this first scene. Henry and Elisa seem to be a “settled” couple. He cares how she feels and she cares for him also, but there seems to be no passion there. Instead they are good friends, but not intimate in the sharing sense of the word. She does not want him to know about the mums. He seems to value her skills and strength, rather than her femininity, and he says she looks “nice”, not beautiful. The salesman takes and interest in order to establish rapport, and to get some work from her, plus a flowerpot he can sell.

She is taken in, believes his story and thinks he has a genuine interest in her flowers. It is her specialty and she loves feeling like she is sharing it. (Ten inch mums are huge.) The first paragraph describe Elisa’s feeling about her life: closed in, grey and damp, waiting for something to change. She is isolated and her life is quite limited and simple, as opportunities for women of that time were very limited.The valley is ready to sleep through the coming wionter in anticipation of spring, but Elisa has passed her chance at spring and new blooms.

She lives that part of her life through her flowers. 5 How might Elisas preparations for going out for dinner be likened to her care for the chrysanthemums? Explain Elisas response after seeing her seedling chrysanthemums have been tossed out onto the road. Elisa’s preparations for going out to dinner are meticulous and thorough. She does not only care for her own body, but for her husband’s clothing too. When she is done bathing she surveys the results and then dresses. She is as careful with her flowers, as we see in the first scene and she tells us with her directions to the salesman for taking care of them.

She packed the seedlings with great care for him to take to the fictional client. She realizes that he has manipulated her and just wanted the money and the flower pot, which she notes that he