Being a woman in early American society means having many limitations rather than opportunities in life. In the short story The Chrysanthemums, Josh Steinbeck portrays the life of a 35 year old woman named Elisa living in a close-minded world. The setting takes place in Salinas Valley, California during the late 1800s. This closed setting contributes to the many themes Steinbeck focuses on. In Josh Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums, Elisas limited world reflects the themes, which include: limitations, opportunities, beauty, and aesthetics.
Probably the first couple of themes the reader will notice are limitations and opportunities. The idea of limitations is hinted as the story begins: The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot. Within this closed pot, Elisa lives with her husband Henry. This house she shares with Henry is enclosed with red geraniums close-banked around it as high as the windows. The only passion Elisa seems to have is growing flowers. The garden where she grows her flowers is surrounded by a wired fence. From these enclosures, Elisa sees various men come and go. These men include: the cattle buyers in their Ford coupe, Henry and the hired man Scotty on their horses, and the tinker in his wagon drawn by a horse.
Elisa, however, doesnt seem to regret staying put while the men travel about. She obviously is not confined to the ranch. Elisa seems to have some knowledge of the roads to give the tinker advice. She states that the dirt road to the ranch winds around and then fords the river. She also points out, Ill think youll save time if you go back to the Salinas road and pick up the highway there. This makes the reader question why she confines herself in the ranch. Perhaps she stays at the ranch because she has nowhere else to go, or just chooses to stay there. However, when the tinker tells Elisa about his journey, she replies, That sounds like a nice way to live.
The curious Elisa asks the tinker more about his life on the road. You sleep right in the wagon? she asks, and he nods his head yes. Elisa thinks sleeping in a wagon would be a nice alternative to life. I wish women could do such things, she points out. The tinker replies by stating women cannot do such things. The next day, she challenges the man. The tinker again turns her down saying it would be an inappropriate job for a woman. However, she cannot accept the fact that she is limited to her world. The connection Elisa has with the tinker takes her out of her confined self. However, she feels limited again after being betrayed by the man and her dreams of seeing the world. Henry notices her suffering and suggests, I ought to take you to dinner oftener. It would be good for both of us. Still, she is feeling disappointed with how her life is and is not strong enough to overcome these limitations.
The main problem with Elisas and Henrys relationship is that they lack an aesthetic sense between each other. Elisa desires to experience beautiful things. This is why she is so compassionate for growing flowers. Being in a closed pot setting, flowers are the only beautiful thing to look at. Henry, however, only appreciates things that bring him money and power. Henry is a prime example of how typical men are in earlier societies of America. Although, Henry does admire Elisas gift of growing beautiful flowers, he only appreciates the size of them. I wish youd work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big, Henry says. Henry only sees Elisa as another way to farm big crops.
The tinker appears to have the same aesthetic sense as Elisa. The man describes the beauty of her flowers as: Kind of a long stemmed flower? Looks like a quick puff of smoke? This brings out a response in Elisa that Henry could never evoke. Elisa could talk about anything to the tinker that Henry would never understand: When the night is dark why, the stars are sharp-pointed, and theres quiet. Why, you rise up and up!
After the tinker departs, Elisa gets ready for her evening out with Henry. She dresses up in her nicest clothes, and waits for Henry to notice her. He points out that Elisa does look nice but fails to explain what he really means. Henry ends up saying, You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon. Henry does seem to appreciate his wife. But he does not admire beauty as Elisa does. Neither does the tinker apparently. All of the tinkers kind words were used to boost Elisas self-esteem. Same as Henry, he only appreciates the value in certain things. He keeps the flower pot and tosses the flowers out on the road. Sadly, Elisa has no one that shares the same feelings with beauty like she does. She is stuck in this close-minded area of California.
Elisa is trapped within this world of ignorance. She desires to be around beautiful objects. But she is limited to growing flowers, the only beautiful thing in her life. She is indeed stuck in this closed pot and desires an opportunity to escape. The entire setting she lives in reflects on the main themes of the story: limitations, opportunities, beauty, and aesthetics. The men involved in the story including Elisas husband contribute to the setting with their old-fashioned ways of thinking. Her husband, Henry, only appreciates things that have value. Even the tinker, who seems to feel the same way as Elisa, appreciates only the value in things. Did Elisa ever find another person that shares a passion for beauty as her?
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