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Imagine the life of a woman in a rural setting; the feeling of being isolated and underestimated by all men, even those that should praise the ground they walk on. This is the constant feeling of, not only Elisa Allen, but all women in a setting as such seen in ‘The Chrysanthemums’. The protagonist, Elisa Allen, is a degraded, isolated woman in which not even her own husband acknowledges her capabilities as a woman. Throughout this short story, Elisa only finds joy in gardening and is otherwise left out of what society considers a world for men.
The short story begins with her thought of working in the orchards with her husband. Although he dismisses her statement, she responds with “Maybe I could do it, too. I’ve a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow. She said it was having planters’ hands that knew how to do it” (Steinbeck, 351). Given this statement, the protagonist seems quite unhappy with the life she upholds and wishes to expand her work opportunities given her passed down strengths. Though she has only had experience gardening things such as chrysanthemums, she is eager to take up a challenge but is quickly shot down due to the occupation being ‘unfit’ for women in this time period. The next challenge she is faced with includes an independent, poor, yet charming salesman named Tinker when he, too, confronts her inability to accomplish that of a man due to her gender. She states she is interested in his lifestyle when saying, “It must be very nice. I wish women could do such things” (Steinbeck, 354). This provides that she, too, is aware of the sexist social expectations of women although she wishes to exceed them. The Tinker quickly replied with the simple words “It ain’t the right kind of life for a woman” (Steinbeck, 354). At this time period, men believed women could not live on their own and were dependent on the male in a relationship for survival. Women were expected to take care of the house and were used for reproduction purposes only, meaning no man saw any other value for women.
Soon after, the main character became spiteful in hopes to prove these men wrong. She goes on to say, “You might be surprised to have a rival some time. I can sharpen scissors, too. And I can beat the dents out of little pots. I could show you what a woman might do” (Steinbeck, 354). She challenges Tinker because she ultimately believes that she, a woman, could do his job better than he can. After her experience with Tinker, she expresses her new found independence and strength within her when she states “I’m strong” (Steinbeck, 355). While doing so, she confronts her husband of his bland compliments in order for him to consider her for the job in the orchards. Although her experiences with Tinker sparked something in her, she quickly realized no man appreciated the capabilities a woman carries when she spots her gifted chrysanthemums thrown on the side of the road. After that sight, “She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly – like an old woman” (Steinbeck, 356). Elisa Allen soon realized that no matter how hard she worked, she lived in a world in which men were dominant and women meant nothing. Her hopes included that women would one day be able to join men in their daily activities, such as attending prize fights, without a barrier in society but was not within reach at the time.
‘The Chrysanthemums’ viewed the life of an average woman in a rural time period, in which they were isolated from their society and wanted to strive for more opportunities in life. Unfortunately, these women, much like Elisa Allen, were underestimated and shot down despite their skills and abilities. The character evolves from wanting to expand her responsibilities to realizing she will always be unhappy with the life she has been provided and is stuck in a world designed for men.
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