The Chrysanthemums

“It was a time of quiet and waiting.”

This line has two meanings. First, it was winter, so farmers were literally waiting for the rain to come and water their crops. It was also a time of waiting for Elisa and all women who were waiting for a time of social justice and equality.

“Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with. She wore heavy leather gloves to protect her hands while she worked.”

This is the first description of Elisa in the story, and Steinbeck chooses to emphasize her masculinity. The apron hides her printed dress, and the hat hides her pretty hair. She is carrying heavy and sharp tools. This passage is a stark contrast to the way Steinbeck describes her later in the story.

“Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.”

Steinbeck describes Elisa as “handsome,” a word typically reserved for men. This quote points out Elisa’s masculine qualities: her eagerness, her strength, her energy, and her power. Elisa put effort into her flowers, which come to represent her youth and beauty.

“Her eyes sharpened. ‘Maybe I could do it, too. I’ve a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow. She said it was having planters’ hands that knew how to do it.’ ‘Well, it sure works with flowers,’ he said.”

This quote demonstrates Elisa’s eagerness to do something more than plant flowers. She knows what she is capable of. Her husband, however, does not see her capability and doesn’t take her seriously. The reader begins to understand Elisa’s dissatisfaction with her life from this interaction.

“His eyes were dark, and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors. The calloused hands he rested on the wire fence were cracked, and every crack was a black line.”

While this quote describes the Tinker, it shows the reader more about Elisa. Here, the reader can see what Elisa sees and how closely she pays attention to this stranger, even noticing the cracks in his hands. Her attraction to the Tinker is obvious.

“Elisa took off her gloves and stuffed them in the apron pocket with the scissors. She touched the under edge of her man’s hat, searching for fugitive hairs. ‘That sounds like a nice kind of a way to live,’ she said."

Two things are happening in this passage. First, Elisa performs a very feminine gesture. She wants to appear a certain way to the Tinker and feels self-conscious. Up to this point, Elisa has seemed mostly masculine. Second, this is the first time Elisa clearly expresses a desire for something more in her life, namely, the adventure of the Tinker’s lifestyle.

“Elisa’s voice grew husky. She broke in on him. ‘I’ve never lived as you do, but I know what you mean. When the night is dark—why, the stars are sharp-pointed, and there’s quiet. Why, you rise up and up! Every pointed star gets driven into your body. It’s like that. Hot and sharp and—lovely.’”

Elisa’s voice is emotionally charged, and her words are sexually charged. She is speaking intimately and provocatively to a strange man, revealing to him and the reader how deep her longing for fulfillment is.

“Kneeling there, her hand went out toward his legs in the greasy black trousers. Her hesitant fingers almost touched the cloth. Then her hand dropped to the ground. She crouched low like a fawning dog."

This is the climax of the story, where Elisa’s internal conflict comes to a crisis. For a moment, it seems that her energetic, passionate, sexual side will win, but in the end, her submissive, self-conscious side reappears. Instead of touching the Tinker, which she wants to do, she pulls her hand back. She finds herself in a position of submission and her attitude has shifted from confident to humiliated.

“‘It must be nice,’ she said. ‘It must be very nice. I wish women could do such things.’”

This passage reiterates Elisa’s desire for a more exciting life. Now, however, there is a touch of bitterness. She seems more aware that women are excluded from such things and resents it. This sentence also shows the reader that although the climax of the story has passed, the internal struggle is not over for Elisa.

“Elisa stood in front of her wire fence watching the slow progress of the caravan. Her shoulders were straight, her head thrown back, her eyes half-closed, so that the scene came vaguely into them. Her lips moved silently, forming the words ‘Goodbye—good-bye.’ Then she whispered, ‘That’s a bright direction. There’s a glowing there.’”

Elisa is in a daydream, seemingly unaware of herself as she expresses her desire. The “bright direction” she speaks of is the life she wishes she could have, a life that is bright and glowing. This line is emotional because she is watching that brightness travel further and further away, leaving her to her grey life.

“In the bathroom she tore off her soiled clothes and flung them into the corner. And then she scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red. When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body. She tightened her stomach and threw out her chest. She turned and looked over her shoulder at her back.”

The energy that went into Elisa’s gardening now goes into her body. She “tore” off her clothes and “flung” them. She scrubbed until her skin was red. Steinbeck also mentions each part of her body, drawing attention to her figure and sexuality. This is a great contrast to how her figure appeared, “blocked and heavy,” earlier in the text.

“Far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew.”

Elisa sees the chrysanthemum stalks she had given the Tinker discarded on the road. She knows for certain what the Tinker thought of her and realizes again how little the people in her life understand or appreciate her. She, like the chrysanthemums, has been discarded.

“‘It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty.’”

The passionate, energetic, strong Elisa that Steinbeck introduced at the beginning of the story is now riding into town, saying she will be satisfied if there is wine at dinner. Elisa has expressed how she longs for a more exciting and fulfilling life, but now, after being crushed by the Tinker’s treatment of her chrysanthemums, she tries to convince herself that she will be satisfied with wine at dinner.