Reading John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” proved to be very challenging due to the difficulty recognizing all of the nuances that peppered the story. At first, it appears to be an innocent story about a woman and her flower garden. Dig below the surface though, and there lies a story about a woman’s desires, frustrations, and unfulfilled life.
Like the “high grey-flannel fog of winter” that “closed off the Salina Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world” (632) Elisa is trapped in her life in the valley. She finds peace and solitude tending her chrysanthemums. The flowers gave Elisa something to throw her life into, to tend and nurture.
Children are never mentioned in the story, so it is assumed that Elisa is childless. She takes care of the flowers, eradicating pests like a mother would take care of a child’s illness or problem, with “terrier fingers destroy[ing] such pests before they could get started” (633). Her chrysanthemums represent her feminine qualities, her motherly instincts.
When the tinker arrives, he is nothing more than a distraction in Elisa’s life. As he and his dog pull up to her wire fence, it is as if they have pulled up to the edge of her world, and she was in no hurry to let them in. This fenced in area of her garden was like her own personal bubble, protecting her from anything in the real world that could hurt her. Elisa seemed wary of the tinker, but engaged him in conversation all the same. When he tries to earn some money fixing pots or scissors for her, Elisa repeatedly tells him “I haven’t anything for you to do” (635). He quickly realizes he needs to change his tactic to obtain any work from this “lean and strong [woman] her eyes as clear as water” (632). He begins to talk to her about her chrysanthemums, and Elisa’s “irritation and resistance melted” and her “eyes grew alert and eager” (635). The story seems to take on some strong sexual undertones at this point, with Elisa becoming more feminine in her actions and appearance.
While preparing the sprouts for the tinker to take to another woman on his route, Elisa invites the tinker to “come into the yard” (636). Her husband, Henry didn’t even come into the fenced area of the yard. The “big red flower pot” (636) that she uses is important, as red is a symbol of passion and power. She has “forgotten her gloves” (636), something she never does, showing the reader that she had become more open to the tinkers attention and less repressed as she normally is with her husband. Elisa kneels in the dirt, “her breast swelled passionately” and her “voice grew husky” (636). She goes as far as to reach out for his leg, but drops her hand and stays “crouched low like a fawning dog” (636). It’s as if the experience is over for her.
Once the tinker is gone, Elisa goes to get ready for her date with Henry. During her bath, she “scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice…until her skin was scratched and red” (638). It seems that she is trying to scrub away the guilt she is feeling from her encounter with the tinker. She goes back to her real life, getting Henry’s bath and clothing ready, and in doing so she stares blankly representing that she has no interest or excitement in marriage (638).
The couple drive down the road, and Elisa sees “a dark speck” (639)on the side of the road, it is obvious to her what it is. The realization that the tinker has “thrown them off the road…but he kept the pot” (639) shows her that she has been used and thrown away. Steinbeck ends the story with Elisa crying and feeling sorry for herself and her dull existence.
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