Assignment 7

Cinthia Cedeno May 3,2010 Eng 102/0826 ,Mr Vasileiou
“Roots to blossoming flowers"

In the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck he presents a woman’s transformation from a plain housewife to a flowering beauteous woman. How one woman goes from trapped to set free. There is a great use of symbolism to represent Elisa’s transformation, which is the main character. The flower is a symbol of the main transaction that leads Elisa to change and grow. John Steinbeck uses the flower to symbolize his main character’s thoughts and ideas. He uses this method to portray how Elisa goes from feeling trapped to then escaping and changing. Along with implying Elisa’s physical appearance as very plain yet allowing a hint of a feminine side to peek through, is almost as if she just needs a certain push to help her transform and that's where the Chrysanthemums come in play.
Elisa Allen is a complex woman, unloved, and unappreciated. She lusts to feel loved, wanted, desire, and needed. When people often feel this way, they want to try to pursuit a change, so they can transform to the person they want to be. Her husband neglects her and is never there for her, because he is always working. The fences around her house symbolize that she's trapped. This makes Elisa feel neglected and stuck, causing her to want to change and escape. She finds gardening as a way out, a distraction that leads to being the main key in her transformation. The flowers in her garden represent Elisa, when the flowers blossoms, she blossoms. When the flowers turn beautiful and live, Elisa comes to life. Elisa sees the chrysanthemums as a replacement of womanhood, it is portrayed as her, as a human. It symbolizes her femininity. She is this plain dull woman that turns beautiful through the blossoming of the flowers, which also means she's getting prettier. "She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and roughed her lips"(Lines 92-94) pg 198.This all symbolize her beauty. Just like a flower, Elisa blossoms. The flowers boosts her confidence, and brings her a ton of energy. Her flowers also represent her repressed sexuality, and her frustration and resentment towards men. She has a great deal of anger towards her husband Henry, who doesn’t really give her the time of day, who doesn't make her feel loved. Knowing that her husband does not show interest in her chrysanthemums, gives her the thought that he does not have interest in her. When someone doesn't feel loved and appreciated, they often try to seek a solution so they can feel like they actually have a purpose.
Elisa fills her garden with nurture, love and care. Since she is simply a lonely house wife with no kids, the crescent of flowers becomes her children. So she transform from wife to mother. "You can raise them from seed, but it’s much easier to root the little sprouts you see there" (Line 58-59) pg 195. Her desire to grow and nurture the plants, which she grows a lot of attachment too. Her gardening symbolizes Elisa protection from anything harmful. A man, a complete stranger one day compliments Elisa's flowers, so she feels complimented. She is interested in him, because he shows interest in her chrysanthemums. She feels appreciated and attracted to the stranger. The connection is by someone being interested in her flowers, so that means someone is interested in her. Elisa fed of the attention, for that is what she desired all along. She went from a woman that not even her own husband gave attention to, to a woman that strikes attention to even strangers. Elisa later on gives herself away to that stranger. She was basically fooled into giving herself away to someone who showed some interest in her chrysanthemums. She becomes this plain housewife who doesn't really have a need to do anything spontaneously, to doing something with someone she doesn't even know. It drove her to just do whatever made her feel good, not with her regular boring instincts.
As Elisa waits for her husband to go on their date, she gets in her best dress and makeup. Her Husband Henry comes home and told her that she looks nice, sounding surprised. She asks him what he means, and he says she looks “different, strong and happy.” She asks what he means by strong. Henry is puzzled and tells her that they’re going to dinner. Elisa loses her composure for a moment, meaning she is surprised that her husband finally notices her. Noticing that she looks prettier and has changed, not only as a wife but as a woman. "Now you're changed again" Henry complained. He took one hand from the wheel and patted her knee. "I ought to take you in to dinner oftener. It would be good for both of us. We get so heavy out on the ranch." (Line 111-114) pg 199. Her husband is noticing his wife transformation. She asks whether they can have wine at dinner, and he says yes. This brings Elisa with a sort of closure that she was a woman all along; she just needed to come out of her cocoon. In order to do so, she needed a boost and a push. Her husband asks her if she would like to see a boxing fight, she asked if women see fights. Her husband said some do, & if she like to go. "She relaxed limply in the seat.”Oh no. No. I don't want to go. I'm sure I don't" Her face was turned away from him. It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty. She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly- like an old woman". (Lines 123-126)Pg 199. It’s almost as if Elisa had enough, and was done with being a sort of masculine woman. She wanted to just stay in the new feminine form she had found, and she wanted to keep it that way.
The flowers were the main ingredient to Elisa growth. How she went from a masculine plain housewife to a feminine beautiful woman. She needed to learn a lesson and be shown that she was a woman all along; it was up to her to find that woman, to strive and seek the better in her. Some good, some bad, walking through her past. To go forward and not look back on the parade of individuals. It is a shockingly hurtful sight to some and they continue to add characters to their line but for Elisa it was a lesson learned fast. She expects things from people but didn't voice what these expectations are and when they aren’t met? It was an excuse to be angry and beat herself up for getting into a lonely relationship with herself and her husband. The answer would be for her to stop feeling sorry for herself? On the outside that is what Elisa appears to be but on the inside it was a different road. A road that started out plain and ended up causing a lot of change in Elisa.


Work Citied Steinbeck John. “The Chrysanthemums”. Oct 1937