The Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck

During the late 19th and early 20th century in America, the rise of Feminism challenged the traditional gender roles. The female authors of this time period represented realistic aspects of women’s struggles, which often reflected limitations from society and their own lives. The three female authors who advocated women’s struggles in their writings were Sojourner Truth, Willa Cather, and Edith Wharton. In the speech to the American Equal Rights Association, Truth reveals that women do not have rights to present their voices in the court. Cather addresses women’s devastating labor life after the marriage in “A Wagner Matinee.” Likewise, in “April Shower”, Wharton portrays men’s criticism upon economically successful women. American female authors of the late 19th and early 20th century demonstrates the ideas of Feminism by men objecting to representation in politics, prohibiting career over marriage, and criticizing economic self-sufficiency.

Since Elisa is a woman with more than superficial qualities, in addition to being a good worker, she seeks a way to fit into this world she feels is limited to her. She feels that it is limited because it is being dominated and interpreted by men. Thus, she tries to seek out some understanding from a stranger who is looking to find "fix-it" work. Many readers see Elisa as being cold and frigid towards the stranger at first appearance. Yet, this is quite possibly her intelligent reaction from being experienced with the realities of life. This scene portrays a "combat of wits in which she shows herself a person of right feeling, one who doesn't let her charitable instincts run away with her" (Beach, 312). Here we have a strange man, and men have proven to Elisa they have a limited understanding of a woman's gentler qualities. Her reaction shows intelligence, good instincts, and is revealing of the period in which the story

For social reform, the Women’s Trade Union League was on the foremost authority, organizing protests and working against prostitution, white slavery, and other social problems that many women faced (15). For political and labor reform, Frances Perkins was on the vanguard of political protests and building regulations. Not only did she get the attention of Tammany Hall, and helped push it to become more progressive, and pass the fifty-four hour law, which took 20 hours off a worker’s week, but she eventually became the first female cabinet member and pushed for Charles Murphy to endorse voting (218). After the Triangle Factory Fire, “she quickly mastered the details of the sprinkler systems, fireproof stairways, fire drills, and more. She knew, in an intellectual way, that New York Factories were extremely vulnerable” which was invaluable in pushing for more building regulations (195). As for economic opportunity, the overall strikes of the women who had been protesting eventually got the attention of the government, and a minimum wage was established in the early 1930’s. Clara Lemlich was one of the leaders of these strikes for pay raises and better factory conditions, and despite being beaten, she led many strikes and became one of the foremost figure in the labor reform movement. She was, “a new sort of

We get our next glimpse into the struggles she is internally suffering when her house is introduced to us as “hard swept” (Steinbeck 348). Elisa extends her insecurities and sorrow onto over-compensating in tending to the house she shares with her husband. The exchange between Elisa and her husband is cold and uncompassionate as they discuss their plans for dinner and a movie. He stands outside the wire fence which serves as a wall between Elisa and the rest of society. As her husband leaves to herd their cattle she watches and swiftly returns to tending her garden.

John Steinbeck’s novel, “East of Eden”, discloses the answer of right and wrong, good versus evil and overcoming sin with a simple Hebrew word “Timshel”, meaning thou mayest, allowing us the freedom to make our individual decisions or choose our path in life; it’s actually God’s perfect gift to everyone. In the beginning, God grants us free will so that we have the ability to love and accept him or not. However, had God not chosen to grant us free will, we would not be human as we know it today, for the original sin would never have occurred. Likewise, people’s inability to experience emotions of any kind, whatsoever, would turn us into mere mundane robots, forced to listen and answer to an authoritarian God. Lee plays an instrumental part in “East of Eden”, by not only bringing into focus “Timshel” and its meaning to the Trask family but through his strength and character as a whole, for without Lee “East of Eden” and the concept of “Timshel” is non-existent.

     John Steinbeck uses symbolism to give alternate meanings to his short story “Chrysanthemums.'; A symbol is a device used to suggest more than its literary meaning. He uses these symbols to look further into the characters and their situations. The character Elisa has a garden, which is more than just a garden, and the chrysanthemums that she tends are more than just flowers. There are actions that she performs in the story, which also have other meanings.

John Steinbeck used his short story, The Chrysanthemums, as a visual illustration to answer the adage, “Is the grass “really” greener on the other side?“ During The Great Depression, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the maxims on which they had based their lives - democracy, capitalism, individualism. By the beginning of the next decade the United States had gone from a laissez-faire economy that oversaw its own conduct to an economy regulated by the federal government.

During the Great Depression, it was not uncommon to become morosely secluded while working. Men would go far away from their families in search of any jobs they could get, with only themselves to confide in; colleagues only filling in the void of friends and family partially. Naturally, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written during this period, would reflect this fact as a major aspect of the story. Loneliness would become the sinew of Of Mice and Men, manifested in some of the story’s main characters: Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. These allusions to loneliness are found throughout the book, mimicking the rampant disease of isolation at the time.

When her husband, Henry, comments about her "strong" chrysanthemum crop, Elisa is pleased by the manliness the word implies, but her husband reminds her of her femininity by offering her an evening on the town (Dickman). Henry suggest that Elisa should work out in his orchard due to her bountiful flowers, but, as Elisa gets excited, he indicates that he was only joking (Steinbeck 2). Soon Elisa is introduced to a traveling man known as a tinker. Elisa's first response to the tinker is that of a man, for she resists giving him work, but as the tinker talks, Dickman’s article points out, Elisa's calculated and conscious masculine efforts become more and more feminine. Elisa's feminine side begins to emerge as she takes off her masculine gloves and hat.

Elisa has obviously taken on a more masculine façade due to her years spent on the farm. However, it seems apparent, both early on and later in the story that she has tried to maintain what femininity she has.

Elisa is seen feminine as she cares for the flowers which is not what she intends to portray. As we saw from the beginning of the short story, Elisa was seen masculine, but as she protected her flower we see her feminine qualities of protection, love as if a mother would do with her own kids. As Steinbeck, writes in the short story, “Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started” (Steinbeck, 801). These lines reveal that she could have portrayed to her readers, her role of motherhood if she was a mother. She cared for the flowers as a mother does, but this is ironic, because she is not a mother explaining that by dressing up as a man you can’t leave your feminine qualities behind.

Steinbeck uses Elisa’s clothing to symbolize her masculinity as well as her isolation from the outside world in order to reveal how society’s standards cause women to become frustrated with the opportunities

Elisa’s flowers are coming in beautifully. Henry then walks over and condescendingly states, “I wish you’d work in the orchard and raise some apples that big.” Her husband made a deal with the men for thirty heads of cattle, and he is cheery about his sale and believes that it is more important than her simple work. This symbolizes the way men viewed the roles of women in the early 1900’s. The way Henry talks to his wife about her hard work and effort, represents the condescending nature of men during that time period.

Another represented element is Freudian theory, this is viewed in terms of sex and death. Sex is represented by the lack that Henry and Elisa having it within their marriage which is creating an issue and distance between the two. Sex is also represented with Elisa lusting over the man complimenting her chrysanthemums. Steinbeck makes this apparent when Elisa is kneeling on the ground looking up at him. While kneeling her hand went out toward his legs in the greasy black trousers, her fingers almost touched the cloth but she was too hesitant. Steinbeck writes that she was, “crouched low like a frowning dog” (Page 5), this is a very submissive sexual position. On page 5 it reads, “She was kneeling on the ground looking up at him. Her breast

As she looks out to these men, we look at Elisa. Although she is doing the "feminine" work of gardening, she is dressed like a man. She wore a black hat low on her forehead to cover her hair, thick leather gloves covered her hands, and clodhopper shoes covering her small woman's feet. A "big corduroy apron" covered the dress making "her figure look blocked and heavy" (396). Unconsciously, as she looks through her fence at the men talking business, she is trying to cover up her feminine qualities. She longs to be in their position and possess their characteristics.