Prof Gibbs
EN 102-03
John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemus" John Steinbeck's " The Chrysantheum" states a story about the psychology of an intelligent, strong, attractive, but unhappy woman in a patriarchal society of Salinas Valley, California in a very interesting way through the third person point of view. From the very beginning, the setting is one of the most important aspect of this story, since Steinbeck intentionally describes about the nature of the Salinas Valley, as the setting of the story, to justify his theme through the symbolic representation of Elisha. Similarly, the story has been well presented as the struggle for gender equality through the characterization of Elisha and her desire of changing the prevalent discrimination…show more content… Just like her life "The high grey-flanned fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world." Likewise, the chryanthemus as the setting tells us a lot about Elisha's life. When Steinbeck talks about Elisha cutting the old year's Chryanthemus stalks, he cleaverly states her potential as a strong intellegent lady by saying " the chrysanthemus stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." Similarly, to present her genderly discriminated role as a female, he states " it was a hard-sweapt looking little house with the hard polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps" as the symbol of male dominated home. To make the story more realistic, Steinbeck uses the cultural aspect making Henry's reply" I sold those thirty head of three-year-old steers. Got nearly my own price, too." to her curiosity about the conversation with the strange men. Her reply "good for you" as the conformation of gender discrimination she has been confronting. While Elisha is waiting for her husband to get ready to go to the dinner "she looked toward the river road ... was still yellow with frosted leaves ... high grey fog they seemed a thin band of sunshine ... her eyes blinked rarely.", which symbolically represents her…show more content… got the richest garden you ever seen..."
The guy scares her by saying " it would be a lovely life for a woman, ,ma'am and a scary life, too, with animals creeping under the wagon all night."(464) It indirectly draws a borderline on the basis of gender role in a male dominated society. Once when Henry questions about her strength, she couldn't hide her strength " for a second she lost regidity."Henry! don't talk like that..." and she booseted "I am strong."
He has also characterized Elisha as a lady who looks forward to have inhanced role and attempts to break the discriminatory borderline. At the end of the story, Elisha shows her interest to fight which symbolizes change from the chrysenthemus gardening. She finds others life more interesting than hers and she says "that sounds like a nice kind of a way of live.." when he hears the life of a .......... , which also reflects her frustration with her life and desire of getting out of it. Elisha says "i wish women could do such thing." means she wants to go beyond the societal borderline.
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