“The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck delves into the world of his wife Elisa Allen. As a 35-year-old woman, she is childless and extremely dissatisfied in her passionless marriage to her well-meaning but totally ignorant husband, Henry. Her low level of self-confidence also contributes to this feeling. Although she has her chrysanthemums to make her a little happier in her life, she ultimately fails to deal with her dissatisfaction in every other aspect of her life, which ultimately leads her to a life of dissatisfaction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayElisa is deeply dissatisfied with her marriage. Elisa and her husband Henry are more roommates than spouses in the sense that their marriage is passionless and they go about their daily activities more or less completely separate from each other. Elisa feels disconnected from Henry because of this lack of unity and is illustrated when Henry tells her that he "sold thirty head of three-year-old oxen" to get "almost my own price too" (Steinbeck). Elisa reacts by saying “Well,… Good for you” (Steinbeck). Her reaction shows that she is not celebrating this as an accomplishment for both of them, but only sees it as something good for Henry, even though this accomplishment is bound to benefit them both. Elisa and Henry's lack of communication also contributes to her dissatisfaction with her marriage. The couple never has a disagreement because they know how to have one. When the story opens and the landscape of the Salinas Valley is described, it is mentioned that there is fog and the farmers are hoping for rain, "but fog and rain don't go together" . These elements do not want to confront each other, just like Elisa and Henry. Elisa, like the fog, is far too indistinct while Henry, like the rain, is completely absent. In their first discussion about the story, Henry describes a fight in progress and jokingly asks Elisa if she wants to go and she replies "Oh, no... No, I wouldn't like fights", evading the lack of friction between them. prevents their relationship from strengthening. Elisa's low self-confidence poses a profound obstacle to her search for satisfaction in her life. Her appearance and the clothes she wears are described as follows: "Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardener's costume, a black man's hat pulled down over her eyes, clod shoes, a printed dress almost entirely covered in heavy corduroy. apron… She wore heavy leather gloves to protect her hands while she worked” and this deliberately allows her to blend in and not draw attention to herself. Her low self-confidence can also be attributed to the limitations of her world. The setting of the story is described as follows: “The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed the Salinas Valley to the sky and the rest of the world. On all sides it rested like a lid on the mountains and made the great valley a closed pot” (Steinbeck). In this closed pot, her attention is still focused on her chrysanthemums, which makes her feel like that's all she's good at. This also explains why Elisa avoids responding to Henry's offer when he wishes aloud that Elisa could grow a cash crop of apples in addition to her chrysanthemums (Steinbeck). Although Elisa has "planter's hands" which destroy pests such as aphids, woodlice and snails "before they can begin", and she has an abundance of energy for which "the stems of chrysanthemum seemed toosmall and easy to…”, she hesitates to take. his offer (Steinbeck). Although Elisa would most likely succeed in this new endeavor, her lack of self-confidence and fear of failure prevent her from moving forward. In her world of dissatisfaction, chrysanthemums arguably offer Elisa the most joy and are a great source of pride for her. While she is working in the garden, one day, a handyman appears and, unbeknownst to her, tricks her into giving him a brand new pot. When he first enters the scene, the handyman asks Elisa if she has any work for him, stating: “I repair pots and sharpen knives and scissors. Do you have anything to do? » (Steinbeck). At first, Elisa is visibly irritated that the man is bothering her, but when the tinker looks for something to connect with her with and finds the chrysanthemums, "irritation and resistance melt from Elisa's face" (Steinbeck). As she began to explain her chrysanthemums to the man, his eyes began to "become alert and impatient" and they glowed (Steinbeck). Elisa suddenly draws some kind of strength from the sexually charged moment where they share a bond over their mutual appreciation of chrysanthemums as "her chest swelled passionately" and her "voice grew hoarse." This strength is something she has not been able to obtain. of her husband. While Henry appreciates his chrysanthemums for their function and size, stating "Some of those yellow chrysanthemums you had this year were 10 inches across," the DIYer "appreciates" them for their beauty, describing the flower as "a kind of flower". a long-stemmed flower? Looks like a quick puff of smoke? (Steinbeck). This elicits a response from Elisa that her husband was unable to evoke. When the man asks for chrysanthemums to take to a woman on the road, Elisa was happy to help him as she "ran excitedly past the geranium." lined path at the back of the house” to get a pot to put the flowers in and takes off his “beaten hat and shakes out his pretty black hair” in addition to removing the heavy leather gloves (Steinbeck). her softening and completely opening up to the man, in a way that she does not do for her husband. Her relationship with the handyman momentarily takes her out of her confined self and gives her hope for the future. In addition to his conversation with the handyman. handyman on the chrysanthemums, they also discussed the life of the handyman on the road. Elisa began to think about what life would be like while traveling, even going so far as to challenge the handyman by saying, "You might be surprised to have a rival who can sharpen scissors." , Also. And I can remove dents from small pots. I could show you what a woman can do” (Steinbeck). The man retorted that "it would be a lonely life for a woman, ma'am, and a frightening life too, with animals crawling under the wagon all night" (Steinbeck). As he walks away, Elisa remarks, “That’s brilliant direction.” There’s a glow there,” suggesting that Elisa is thinking that maybe she can try something new that doesn’t involve her chrysanthemums and still succeed at it. After her meeting with the handyman, she returns home and prepares for dinner with her husband by dressing in her best clothes "symbol of her beauty" in the hope of eliciting a response from her husband about her beauty, a bit like the handyman did with his chrysanthemums (Steinbeck). When Henry sees her, he simply responds "You're so pretty", completely unaware of the fact that she wanted him to call her beautiful (Steinbeck). Henry has good intentions but is unable to connect with his wife on an emotional level. He has been blinded by his own work and his role as a provider and he cannot see.