“The Chrysanthemums”
A woman should be allowed to feel and act how she wants and not be held back by a role she is supposed to play. However, it can be challenging. In the short story “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck writes about a woman, Elisa Allen, who is desperate to leave the role of being known simply as a “wife,” “gardener,” and “housekeeper.” From the beginning, there is an understanding of the different positions between Elisa and her husband, Henry Allen. “Elisa Allen, working in her flower garden, looked down across the yard and saw Henry, her husband, talking to two men in business suits,” the narrator lets it known that Henry is the one who is the moneymaker. At the same time, she is stuck in the garden, shielded by the flowers. Instead of being stuck, she wants to explore the world and satisfy the need for love and excitement that her life lacks, especially finding intimacy once again in her dull marriage. Elisa shows that she wants to be beautiful and powerful within and outside herself.
From the story's beginning, Steinbeck depicts Elisa's character as a woman who presents a feeling of femininity and masculinity. The narrator explains how the works of being in the garden are too simple for her. "Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." It seems to be a regular duty for a woman to be in a garden, and Elisa does show passion for it, but there is more to her personality and energy. However, no one lets her exert this strong and intense energy into other work around the house. Her husband does not let her work in the orchard, possibly a type of work only men do, where she could express more of her great gardening and not only stick with the flowers. She, too, understands her powerful gift of working hard in the soil of trees and plants. "Her eyes sharpened. 'Maybe I could do it, too. I've a gift with things, all right," the narrator explains Elisa's passion and determination for doing her job in the planting field. Even with such enthusiasm, her husband dismisses her and says she is only helpful for the flowers.
The tinker, a traveling man who can fix pots, and other things, proves to be a role-model for Elisa. She can see how his lifestyle is intriguing, while hers lacks a passionate life. He explains to her that he takes six months on the road going to Seattle to San Diego, performing his work for those who hire him. Elisa compliments him and cannot help herself from being curious about life and wishing she could do the same. Her desire is immediately shot down when the tinker says, “It ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman.” There is a limit to what women can experience. It seems she does not have the right to travel around like the tinker, does not have the right to get dirty by sleeping in a wagon as he does; she is not allowed to get dirty or work hard around towns. The tinker sees women as weak by themselves since he believes that they would be fearful of riding in a wagon without someone by their side. Gender roles play a deep meaning in this story as men and women are separated to act the way that society makes them out to play.
Elisa fights away at the gender roles. When the tinker dismisses her, Elisa is annoyed. "Her upper lip raised a little, showing her teeth. 'How do you know? How can you tell?'" The narrator describes Elisa's facial expression, where her annoyance can be physically seen. Elisa challenges the tinker's beliefs of the type of life that is right for a woman, which Elisa believes to be anything that she desires. She further challenges his position as a man when she expresses that she can perform his job as good as he can or even better. Elisa knows there are strengths and higher expectations that women have for themselves, but for the story, she knows there are experiences she knows she can do for herself and life. Women should not feel restricted from job opportunities because of their gender.
As the tinker leaves, Elisa whispers: "That's a bright direction. There's a glowing there." Her words mean that the life of the tinker is bright, and it is a direction she wishes she could take. The tinker has the freedom to do and go wherever he wants. As much as she wants to follow this bright direction, she can only stand back and watch. Elisa watches and ultimately accepts that a free and adventurous life are two things that are most likely not in her grasp.
While the tinker and Elisa have different mindsets, Elisa is fond of the tinker's physical attributes and the attention he gives her. Their first meeting comes when he approaches her wire fence that protects her garden. He acts as a threat to her because the wire fence around her can symbolize her innocence of being isolated from society. She is an innocent woman who is searching for more, so when the tinker is present, she finds out how to express herself to another man other than her husband. His intentions are purely to sell his tinkering services to her, and at first, she realizes this, pushing away his offers, but then he compliments her chrysanthemums.
Elisa's attitude changes. She becomes visibly brightens. The tinker acknowledging her chrysanthemums is almost as though he noticed her and the hard work she exerts to keep them alive. "The irritation and resistance melted from Elisa's face. 'Oh, those are chrysanthemums, giant white and yellow. I raise them every year, bigger than anybody around here,'" the narrator indicates that Elisa is proud of her work and is appreciative that someone notices, especially from a good-looking man. This sudden attention awakens a sexual need in Elisa, which is another constant theme that works in the story. "Her hesitant finger almost touched the cloth. Then her hand dropped to the ground," the narrator explains the physical contact Elisa desired.
She is innocent to the attention of another man since she and her husband have seemed to have lost their lustful and intimate values. When the tinker shows interest in her, she realizes the potential of femininity she has in her. Moreover, she is more than grateful to hand over her beautifully grown chrysanthemums to him, innocently trusting that he will take care of them. It is as though she trusts him to take care of her and the beauty contained within her. When the tinker leaves, she beautifies herself for her outing with her husband. She wants to keep the feeling that the tinker left in her. “When she dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body,” the narrator explains her actions of appreciating her body and appearance. She wants to feel like a beautiful woman. Not only is Elisa a hardworking woman, she is beautiful.
Everything in Elisa, her feeling of empowerment and confidence, halts when she realizes that the tinker abandons the chrysanthemums at the side of the road. “In a moment it was over. The thing was done. She did not look back.” Elisa understands that the tinker only used her for a sale. She is upset, but cannot look back on what happened, perhaps wanting to move forward with her life. When she cries at the end, it could mean she has to stop day-dreaming of the life she desires and open her eyes to the harsh reality of being stuck in a world that does not let her live.
Elisa battles through gender roles, wanting more for herself as a woman, and sees herself doing things jobs like her husband and the tinker do. She is desperate for this life that she is physically drawn to the tinker, awakening more to Elisa that she previously lacked. Nevertheless, there is so much that holds Elisa back. Steinback articulates a more in-depth insight into what life is like for women and the roles that are meant for them to play through his story, "The Chrysanthemums."
