Elisa Allen is dissatisfied with the gender inequality between her and Henry Allen, her husband, leading to her abject loneliness. Through Elisa Allen, John Steinbeck is reminding his audience that treating other human beings as inferior ultimately causes a loss of gender identity. Elisa Allen is treated as an inferior being by her husband because she is a woman. Henry works out in the field with the other men, leaving Elisa to work in the house; she has no choice in the matter. She watches him “talking to two men in business suits. The three of them stood by… smoked cigarettes and studied the machine as they talked.” Because of this rejection from the male-dominated society, Elisa begins to find her identity more in masculine things. In the opening scene she is dressed in an ambiguous “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 corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher…”. She is unconsciously trying to find acceptance and be able to make an impact on the world, but she is frustrated by society’s acceptance of males …show more content…
The man tells Elisa that her neighbor desires to grow chrysanthemums, just like Elisa does. Because of this, Elisa realizes that perhaps she can make a name for herself just by doing women’s work. Even the men depend on a woman to cook and clean for them - Elisa begins to understand her own importance. She bathes meticulously, in order to look prettier and more feminine. She even dresses in “her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled in her eyebrows and rouged her lips.”. However, her newfound confidence would soon
Author John Steinbeck creates some of the most realistic characters in literature in his novelette Of Mice and Men. George, Lennie, and Curley’s wife are examples of both strength and weakness. In the end, each of them are pushed beyond the limits of what a normal human being should endure. Curley’s wife is a victim in her own life. Her dreams of becoming an actress are crushed, she is lonely, and she is murdered by Lennie.
Firstly, Elisa and Mrs. Mallard related in the fact that they both faced the sad reality that women in their time periods were unbearably unequal to men. For example, in "The Chrysanthemums," it was clear that women had no say in the business aspects of things such as running a ranch. This is
Curley's wife also yearns for attention and someone to connect with but is shut off and avoided because of her sex. Steinbeck reveals the barriers that trap people into isolation and the urgency to escape. Of Mice and Men comes to show there is a need in every human being for some type of connection, togetherness, and
In The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is a woman who is trapped at her husband Henry’s ranch by her gender and society’s idea of what a woman can manage. She is a very strong, capable woman who works all day to make the house spotless and the garden thrive. Elisa is good at her work, “behind her stood the neat white farm house… it was hard swept looking little house, with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps”. That show just how much work she puts into keeping the house clean. Elisa knows she is capable of successfully accomplishing any number of what society labels as men’s work and being held back makes her bitter and resentful. In an attempt to feel freedom, Elisa gifts some of her chrysanthemums to a traveling solicitor. She is devastated when she spots the flowers dumped on the road on her way to town with Henry. Elisa, like her flowers, feels discarded and devalued by men and society.
Elisa Allen is a lonely woman who enjoys growing and nourishing her chrysanthemums. Since her husband is always working the cattle in their farm, she never has enough attention or any kind of affection. The result of this dispassionate marriage leads Steinbeck to describe his main character as follows, "Her face lean and strong Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low clod-hopper shoes completely covered by a big corduroy apron " (Page 206-207) This neglect from her busband causes her to turn to her
"The Chrysanthemums" introduces us to Elisa Allen, a woman who knows she has a gift for growing things, but it seems to be limited to her garden. Diligently working in her garden, Elisa watches as men come and go, living their lives unconfined, wondering what it must feel like to have that freedom. That emotion is revealed as Elisa gases at her husband and acquaintances talking, "she looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then." As she tills the soil for her chrysanthemums Elisa tills the thoughts in her head. The garden she so desperately maintained represents her world. A world that will only flourish if nourished. Emotional nourishment and stimulation is what Elisa lacked and longed for. The garden is limited in space to grow and so is her marriage. The garden is safe, non-threatening and so is her world. The garden contains many different elements that make it what it is, although unseen, and if the proper nourishment is not given it will die, as with Elisa.
In the portion of the story where Elisa is talking to the "Fixer-Guy" who happens to pull down the road to her farm, Steinbeck shows Elisa's eagerness for attention and how she comes to the realization that there is a more exciting life outside the farm. In the “Fixer-Guy”, Elisa finds somebody who sees her as more than a housewife, someone who can appreciate her from an unbiased viewpoint. He offers his services and she turns him down saying “I tell you I have nothing like that for you to do.” At first she resists conversation with him. Then when he asks about her plants Steinbeck writes “The irritation and resistance melted from Elisa’s face.” “I raise them every year, bigger than anybody around here”, she boasts. She is now very eager to talk about her chrysanthemums. Elisa's face becomes "tight with eagerness" as she talks about them, as if they were her children. The vibes from her infatuation with these flowers are picked up by the old man, and there is an unspoken connection between these two perfect strangers as they have both chosen their own preoccupation in life, his being a passion of pots and hers a love of chrysanthemums. It is this connection that ignites the realization that she longs to break free from the everyday routine she calls life. This feeling is so strong that "her hand went out toward his legs in the greasy black trousers" as if to grasp a piece
She does not help with the ranch or the cultivation of the orchard, but rather tends to her own garden. Her reportedly stellar chrysanthemums represent her delicate side. By maintaining and ensuring a yearly exemplary flourish, Elisa sustains and nourishes her suppressed womanly essence. Although Steinbeck reveals that, “The
The definition of important is “having serious meaning or worth,” (Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary). Pierre Elliott Trudeau is the representation of this. Trudeau was born in Montreal to Joseph Charles Trudeau and Grace Elliott. Joseph was of French descent and Grace was of Scottish, therefore Trudeau was bilingual. He was appointed Minister of Justice and gained national attention for his social reforms. These include divorce laws, abortion, laws on homosexual marriage and regulations on public lotteries. Afterward, he became the 15th Prime Minister Of Canada. He was the Prime Minister from April 20th, 1968 to June 4th, 1979, and once more from March 3rd, 1980 to June 30th, 1984, obtaining the role after Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. While he was the Prime Minister for 15 years in total where he accomplished many objectives that constructed Canada. Authors Geoff Pevere and Greig Dymond considered him to be “the greatest pop star this country has ever produced,” (O’Malley Martin, 2013.) He was arguably Canada’s best-known politician and was extremely special indeed. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was the most significant post-war Prime Minister because he unified Canada and reshaped the Canadian identity. He did this by establishing the Official Languages Act, stopped terrorism carried out by the Front de libération du Québec and enacted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, all which are incredibly momentous for Canada.
There are many symbolic references to Elisa Allen as a sexually repressed and frustrated woman. One representation of the chrysanthemum is Elisa's passion and eagerness to live and experience life a content woman. While tending her chrysanthemums "she pulled out the crisp little roots and trimmed of the leaves of each one with her scissors (Steinbeck 1464)." This is a symbolism of Elisa Allen closing off all opportunities to grow as a sexual woman; She has resigned herself to the monotonous life as a complacent farmer's wife (Lee 1). The "figured print dress (Steinbeck 1463)" under the apron shows the readers that Elisa is aware of her sexuality but instead of acting on it has chosen to subdue it. She keeps her sexuality and passions under control like she cares for her chrysanthemums "laid [in a] small [and] orderly pile (Steinbeck 1464)" (Lee 1). Elisa begins to allow this sexuality to emerge when the traveling tinker romantically describes her
One character in the story does not even have a name: Curley’s wife. Steinbeck illustrates her as someone who is a pawn of those around her. On the surface, she is reduced to a rude and selfish woman. But, if one looks deeper, Curley’s wife’s gender and class hinder her high aspirations and reduces her to ridicule. Her husband restricts her contact with others and does not show any affection towards her. She reveals this while
The story concerns the unhappy marriage, which appears to be a theme in many of Steinbeck’s short stories, and the psychological effects this has primarily on the wife, Elisa Allen. The central character, Elisa, is appealing to many readers and scholars alike, because of the depth of her persona. Elisa is introduced to us in a less than feminine fashion which can be seen as a hint at oppression of women in
For Elisa, I believe she wants to have a say in her life and have more control over what she does. I also believe she wants to be more loved by her husband. After she gets all dressed up and beautiful, and he can say is she looks “nice.” Henry can never really take his wife seriously either; every time she says something that is remotely bordering his territory, he suddenly changes the subject or brushes her thoughts aside: ‘“Well it sure works with the flowers”’. Even the repairman brushes aside her desire to live a life like his—It aint the right kind of life for a woman (231). He almost uses her joy at discovering someone who admires her ability, to make her appear gullible and naïve. Steinbeck is using these male characters to show that people that deem themselves as “normal” will soon want to squash out any dissension in desires, views, or
The girl distrusts her mother and believes her to be out of touch, while helping her father in "his real work" (468). Surprisingly, the girl's desire to avoid the manifestation of her femininity in womanly tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, influences her into feeling that her mother is "plotting now to get [her] to stay in the house [. . ]. and keep [her] from working for [her] father" (469). The girl chooses to dismiss her mother, thereby dismissing her own future role as a housewife.
This is because she is not aware that the way she acts is because of the society and culture she lives in. In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums”, Elisa Allen is the wife of Henry Allen and they live on a Ranch in California. Henry has just made a large sale and suggests they go out to dinner tonight. She agrees and continues to work on her Chrysanthemums. While she is working in her garden a man comes up looking for work. He fixes pots and pans for a living. When Elisa says she has nothing for him to fix, he compliments her flowers and says there is a lady down the road who would love some. She gets excited and finds something for him to fix and gives some flower buds to deliver to the women. The man uses her love for chrysanthemums just to find work. He does not really care about the flowers but he does this to make her happy and in return she pays him for a pot he fixes. On the way to dinner Elisa sees the buds she gave the man on the side of the road and begins to cry. This response can be explained by Brian Moon. Moon says “There are also a great number of differences between sexes created by culture that have nothing to do with biology” (74). She cries because she is a women and they are seen as the more emotional sex. This is because society has labeled women like this. Elisa is not aware, but she is acting like this because of her