The+Chrysanthemums


 * •John Steinbeck•**


 * "The Chrysanthemums"**


 * Page by Lindsey Lewis**

Group H Main Page "A Wagner Matinee" "Trifles" The National Steinbeck Center
 * Links to Other Group Created Pages**

In "The Chrysanthemums" the reader finds the main character, Elisa Allen working in her garden, cutting the stalks of old chrysanthemums as her husband, Henry, was approaching from their ranch. (Lauter 1792). The narrator describes Elisa by saying, "She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big country apron with four big pockets to old the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she used to work with. She wore heavy leather gloves to protect her hands while she worked"(1792). When Henry finally reaches Elisa he compliments her on her work with the flowers and that "I'd wish you'd work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big"(1793) He also says that because he has just sold a lot of their cattle for a good price, "I thought how it's Saturday afternoon, and we might got inot Salinas for dinner at a restaurant and then to a picture show--to celebrate, you see"(1793).
 * Summary**

After Henry leaves to finish working a traveling sales man on a large wagon pulls up to the houes and begins to talk to Elisa. He tells her of his travel schedule and asks for directions to Los Angles. Elisa seems to be interested in his time on the road, but turns him away when he begins to press her for any work he may do. When he sees that talking solely about his travels will not get him work, he turns and askes Elisa about her flowers. He first says that chrysanthemums smell "nasty," and Elisa retorts that "it's a good bitter smell, not nasty at all;"and with that he changes his tone to agree that the flowers do smell good (1795). He further compliments her flowers and tells her of a woman he knows who is looking for some good chrysanthemums to plant into her garden. She put some of the flowers into a pot full of soil and gave the man instructions to care for them. As Elisa begins to explain to the man about planter's hands "her breast swelled passionately," her "voice grew husky," and with her hands streched out to touch the bottom of his pants, she found herself "dropped to the ground. She crouched low like a fawning dog" (1796). Realizing what she was doing she found some work for him from the house, and both took on a much more guarded and professional tone. After she paid him for the work, and she reminded him again how to take care of the chrysanthemums, he took off again along the road. Once he was gone she went into the house to get ready to go out with Henry, who came in shortly after to also get ready to go. When Henry compliments Elisa on her looks she is not sure how to react, and under her questions he stumbles on to say "I mean you look different, strong and happy"(1798). She is still unsure by what he means with his compliments, and further says "You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon" (1798). Elisa, who seemed uncomfortable under his orginal compliment, finally felt alright with what Henry was saying, and waited as he left to get the car.

While driving down towards town "far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew" (1798) The man had thrown the chrysanthemums off of his cart, "but he kept the pot, he had to keep the pot" (1799). Farther along the road she saw the man's cart, but turned away so her husband would not see her watching it. She asked Henry if they could have wine with their dinner, and then asked him "do women ever go to the fights?" (1799). When he said no, and asked if she wanted to go, she told him no, that "It'll be enough if we can have wine" (1799). She did not talk again and "she turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly--like an old woman" (1799).

“The Chrysanthemums” was written in 1934 and provides a window into the secluded lives that women were forced to live while their husbands worked on, or owned, ranches just as the nation was coming out of the Great Depression (enotes). The setting, which predates the household telephone, easy individual transportation, the internet, shows the pressures and the isolated way that dictated women’s lives. The opening scenes of the story, which described a very close, almost claustrophobic fog, further goes to illustrate Elisa's seclusion.Elisa, who does not have a job, nor as it appears any children, spent her days alone while her husband went out to work. Despite his best, albeit clumsy attempts to make her happy, Henry clearly does not know what Elisa needs. All people need human contact and meaningful interaction. Elisa has no children, no close friends, and no immediate means to interact with other people on a daily basis and has taken to raising chrysanthemums. Her flowers become as meaningful to her, if not more so, than real human interaction. When seen as such it is understandable why the salesmans brief contact with her elicits such a dramatic emotional and physical response from Elisa.
 * Analysis**

Elisa’s reactions appear to be very sexual, which is understandable when looking at the type of attention that she receives from Henry. Henry compliments Elisa only on her work ethic, her natural affinity with plants, and her strength. When he attempts to compliment her on her physical appearance he sounds nervous and unsure of himself, and returns to focusing only on her abilities and not on her femininity. The traveling salesman pretends to have a true interest in the flowers, which Elisa sees more as family or friends than plants, and this touches her in ways that Henry’s clumsy and lacking compliments do not. When the salesman appears of value her flowers Elisa seems him as finding value in her, and it appears that she is more attracted to his attention than to the actual man himself, whom she had, at first appearance, tried to turn away.

If Elisa had had the same rights, and had been viewed as an equal to her husband, then she could have worked alongside him on the ranch, or at least been given the freedom to travel on her own. Her interest in traveling is obvious by the rapt attention she shows the salesman as he speaks, with Elisa saying “It must be nice, it must be very nice. I wish women could do such things” (1797). The salesman puts down her thoughts though, the same way Henry puts down her femininity, by saying “It ain’t the right kind of life for a woman” (1797). The negative response, a clear attack on women’s abilities, sparks a very animalistic response from Elisa, a response that mimics the animal like desire she showed when the salesman showed interest in her flowers: “Her upper lip raised a little, showing her teeth” (1797).

Steinbeck has placed on Elisa all of the abilities of a man, and described her animalistic nature in the same way he describes his other male main characters, such as Kino, from “The Pearl.” Throughout Steinbeck’s stories strong male characters are known to snarl, or growl, or act in other animal like ways, but in “The Chrysanthemums” this role is reversed, and the female character, Elisa, is given these qualities. Aside from the style juxtaposition, Steinbeck liberates Elisa of children, another stereotypical female constraint, and describes her strength, her affinity with plants and the land, and the stoic manner that she presents herself. By giving her so many masculine features, but keeping the character as a woman, Steinbeck is making a universal claim that women are equal to men, by making Elisa relatable to male readers. For male readers to see a woman similar to themselves trapped in an isolated, and very common setting for women of the time, Steinbeck is making a feministic appeal for womans equality. It can also be seen that Steinbeck, by highlightings Elisa's strenght, her power, and her abilities, is making it clear than women do have more to offer than being trapped in their homes. Henry himself says, even if he may only be joking, that Elisa would be helpful working on the ranch based on her talent at growing large and healthy chrysanthemums.

In form with the Modernist style Steinbeck looks more at the individual to make a large commentary on society. As with all of Steinbecks work, even his nonfiction, he also makes the common person and the average setting the center of his stories, turing away from the large cities, rich characters, and luxurious lifestyles of many Romantic writers. The heart of this story is in the quite moments and the little gestures made by the characters, and is driven by human nature. Steinbeck's work also has a underlying theme of love and an understanding of power of the land, which is obvious in this story because the chrysanthemums are the key factor that sets the entire narrative into motion. Also, the chrysanthemums work as a substitute of human contact and affection of Elisa. This love of the land is seen in other Modernist writers, such as Walt Whitman, Sarah Jewett, and Robert Frost. This story does not provide a clean and final ending, but instead leaves the reader with the final image of Elisa crying. Here Steinbeck leads readers to find their own answers in his open ended story though the actions of the characters, and not, as it was prior to the Modern Period, through the heavy hand of the narrator.

From the film version of __The Grapes of Wrath__ here is Ma Joad speaking first, about the power of people, but also about the inner strength of women, as it applies more directly to our theme of women's evolving rights and their place in society. Elisa, who has suffered not only at the hands of her unknowing husband, but also at the devious actions of the salesman, has the same inner strengh that Ma Joad is speaking about. Even though the reader is left with a very sad image of Elisa, based on the strength that Steinbeck goes to length to describe, the reader hopes that in the end she will be alright. media type="youtube" key="P_bXy52Jaqg"

John Steinbeck Born: February 27, 1902 Died: December 20, 1968 Parents: John Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton Hometown: Salinas, California School: Attended Stanford University, but did not complete his degree Married: 3 Times -Carol Henning 1930-1942 (it's believed that Cathy, from __East of Eden,__ is based on her) -Gwyndolen Conger 1943-1948,(he has two sons with Gwyn, Thomas and John). -Elanie Scott 1950-until his death Major Awards: -Pultizer Prize 1939 -Academy Award Nomination for Best Writing for "Lifeboat" -Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 Works: Along with writing several play and movie scripts, short stories, and editorial pieces, Steinbeck best known for his novels, which include : · __Cup of Gold__-1929 · __The Pastures of Heaven__-1932 · __The Red Pony__-1933 · __To a God Unknown__-1933 · __Tortilla Flat__-1935 · __In Dubious Battle__-1936 · __The Long Valley__-1938 (This is the collection that "The Chrysanthemums" was published in) · __Forgotten Village__-1941 · __The Moon is Down__-1942 · __Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team__-1942 · __The Pearl__-1947 ** · __The Wayward Bus__-1947 · __A Russian Journal__-1948
 * Biography**
 * · __Of Mice and Men__-1937**
 * · __The Grapes of Wrath__-1939 (Pulitzer Prize Winner)**
 * · __The Log from the Sea of Cortez__-1941**
 * · __Cannery Row__-1945

· __Burning Bright__-1950 · __Sweet Thursday__-1954 · __The Short Reign of Pippin IV__-1957 · __Once There Was A War__-1958 · __The Winter of Our Discontent__-1961 Several Collections of Steinbeck's letters to friends and editors have also been published, with the two most popular being __Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters__, and __The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath__.
 * · __East of Eden__-1952**
 * · __Travels With Charley__-1962**

__The Heath Anthology of American Literature__ vol D, Modern Period 1910-1945 Paul Lauter, General Editor
 * Links and Sources**

__The Portable Steinbeck__ Pascal Covici Jr, Editor

enotes.com http://www.enotes.com/chrysanthemums

The National Steinbeck Center http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html