A Woman Bound By Society
A Woman Bound by Society
John Steinbeck, in his short story "The Chrysanthemums" depicts the trials of a woman attempting to gain power in a man's world. Elisa Allen tries to define the boundaries of her role as a woman in a closed society. While her environment is portrayed as a tool for social repression, it is through her love of nature and her garden where Elisa gains and shows off her power. As the story progresses, Elisa has trouble extending this power outside of the fence that surrounds her garden. In the end, Elisa learns but does not readily accept, that she possesses a feminine power, that is weak, not the masculine one she had tried so hard to achieve through its imitation.
The short story begins with a look at the setting. "The Chrysanthemums" was written in 1938, and the story takes place roughly around the same time. It is winter in Salinas Valley, California. The most prominent feature is the "gray-flannel fog" which hid the valley "from the rest of the world" (221). The grey fog that covers the valley is like that of the man's world covering Elisa and pushing her down. The mountains, valleys, sky, and fog sum everything up inside as a "closed pot" (221). This reference to a closed pot can be related to Elisa's feelings of being secluded from the man's world. Inside this shut-off habitat the environment is trying to change. Just as the farmers are waiting for an unlikely rain, Elisa is waiting for a change in their enclosed lives. Gregory Palmerino sums up the overarching meaning implied by the setting, "the natural elements of the foothills ranch seem as unable to confront each other as each of the characters that inhabit it's environment" (1). Palmerino's quote shows how Elisa feels unable to confront her situation of repression.
"There is a tension created and maintained from the opening scene that is unique in Steinbeck's work" (Wyatt 1).The action of the story opens with...
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