Reasons Behind the Destruction of a Woman’s Dream: Analysis of the Character Elisa Allen in The Chrysanthemums

閆璇

John Steinbeck， the Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1962， gains his reputation mainly for his novels in the 1930s like The Grapes of Wrath （1939） and Of Mice and Men （1937）. The Long Valley published in the 1930s is a collection of short stories written by him， among which The Chrysanthemums is considered “Steinbecks most successful fiction”.

The Chrysanthemums is a story about a woman named Elisa Allen. She lives in the Salinas Valley in South California. Her life on the farm is dull and ordinary. She concentrates merely on planting and cultivating her chrysanthemums within the fence. One day a tinker comes by. He compliments on Elisas chrysanthemums with the intention of earning money by repairing things. Elisa feels so satisfied that she gives a chrysanthemum bud with a red flower pot to the tinker. She even invites the tinker into her flowerbed. However， on her way to the restaurant in town with her husband， she find the chrysanthemum bud abandoned on the road， making her cry “like an old woman”.

Despite the simple plot， the writer intends to depict a womans struggle against reality and her fight for dream. For a long time The Chrysanthemums has been included in the feminist canon because it arouses the readers and critics female consciousness. In the late 1950s Peter Lisca said that The Chrysanthemums was “Elisas silent rebellion against the passive role required of her as a woman”.

As a woman， she expects her virtues and capabilities to be recognized by others especially by men. She tries to break away from the current situation， desires to know the world like a man and fight for freedom. However， her dream is doomed to be ruined as a result of society and Elisa herself.

The story is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression when economic problems overwhelmed other social problems including feminist movements. Womens needs are neglected. For women like Elisa， “they changed the attitude towards the farm life. More and more women chose to break away from the farm. They desired more for their own experience rather than the duty as a housewife”. However， the Great Depression could not provide them with the opportunities. Therefore， womens status could not be changed in no time. Elisa had to stay on her flowerbed and restrained herself in the fence.

Meanwhile， the destruction of her dream also results from her self-contradiction and indetermination. Elisa is seemingly imprisoned by Henry her husband. Rather， she is imprisoned by herself. She hides herself in mens clothing and in her own fence. She doesnt allow anyone even her husband to step into the fence. As her husband approaches the fence and leans over it， Elisa “straightened her back and pulled on the gardening glove again”， indicating her resistance to her husband. However， when the tinker compliments on her flowers， she invites him to her flowerbed. In her mind， it is easier to talk freely to a stranger because she believes the tinker is bound to leave so that no one will know what is within her mind. But for her husband， she finds it difficult to express her true feelings， because its not considered virtue of a woman. When her husband asks her whether she wants to see the fight or not， she hides her desire and denies going there.

From Elisas story， it can be concluded that the destruction of womens dreams is often caused by their fear to break away from the norms that society imposes on them.

【作者簡介】閆 璇，江蘇省南菁高級中學。