Literary Criticism of “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck

The short story that I have chose for this assignment is ‘The Chrysanthemums’
by John Steinbeck and my partner for this assignment is Mohamad Shahril bin Alim.
Therefore, in this essay I will describe about the author’s background, the synopsis of
the story and the most important thing is the element of feminism in this story.

Firstly, the short story “ The Chrysanthemums” was written by John Steinbeck.
He was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. In 1930, Steinbeck married Carol Henning
and divorced in 1942. Then, he remarried with Gwyndolyn Congor and had two sons
with her. However, they got divorced in 1949 and his last marriage was with Elain Scott
in 1950 until his death in 1968. Steinbeck was very popular with his novels of California
and specifically in set in Salinas. Lots of Steinbeck’s writings were concerned on politics
because he spent time with labour-union leaders, communist, leftist and radicals. In
1948, Steinbeck was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and he also
won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1962.

Generally, the short story “ The Chrysanthemums” is about a thirty-five year old
woman who was lean, strong, and attractive named Elisa Allen. She approached her
gardening of the chrysanthemums with great energy. She was working on her
chrysanthemums when five strangers came and met Henry, her husband to buy his
steers. Henry praised her beautiful chrysanthemums. He then offered Elisa a dinner and
movie in town. Later, there was a tinker came over to their house to give service in
repairing the pots but Elisa refused. The man praised her chrysanthemums and he said
that an old lady asked him to find a chrysanthemum for her. Elisa felt happy and gave
him few of her chrysanthemums. When Elisa and her husband were on their journey for
dinner, Elisa saw a dark speck and she knew it was her chrysanthemums. Elisa cried
silently in the car to ensure Henry didn’t see she was crying.

There are lots of feminism elements in this short story. There is no single
meaning of feminism. Virginia Woolf, a British feminist declared in 1919 that men have
treated women, and continues to treat them as inferiors. Woolf also mentioned that it is
the men who define what it means to be women and who controls the society such as in
terms of economic, political, and social. Whereas Simone de Beavoir (1949), a French
writer stated that women become the object of men, their existence is defined and
interpreted by men. Women find themselves as a second gender as they are not so
important in their society compared to men. She also stated that it is the society who
has made women become the object of men. Therefore, in other words, feminism can
be referred as the belief of injustice against women.

Charles E. Bressler in his book , “Literary Criticism”(1994) stated that there are
four features of feminism theory which are images of the female body where the author
highlights various parts of the body like breast and uterus, female language, the female
psyche and its relationship to the writing process and culture. However, there are only
two features of feminism that can be found in this story which is the images of woman’s
body and culture. In term on the images of female body, we can see Steinbeck
describes clearly Elisa’s physical body. For examples, “ She was kneeling on the
ground looking up at him. Her breast swelled passionately.” and “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.” This shows that Elisa’s body image is highlighted by Steinbeck to
describe Elisa. Steinbeck used the word “breast” that might be touched on women’s
sensitivity.

Besides the images of female body, there is also a culture feature of feminism in
this story. “The Chrysanthemums” was written in 1938. The perception of society on that
time was it was the men who supposed to control the economic, political, social and
literary structures. Bressler also said that “ Literature and society have frequently
stereotyped women as angels, barmaids, bitches, whores, brainless housewives or old
maids.” Therefore, in “The Chrysanthemums”, Elisa’s role is not more than a housewife.
Although Elisa seems to be more intelligent than Henry, but it is her husband who runs
the ranch, support the family and make business deals. She just accept what her
husband’s decision. So, we can see there was a gender inequality and stereotyping of
women’s role on that era.
 However, in this story, Elisa tried to show to the tinker that women can also do
what men can do. “ You might be surprised to have a rival some time, I can sharpen
scissors , too. And I can beat the dents out of little pots. I could show you what a
woman might do.” As we know, feminism fights for gender equality. Bressler said that
feminism’s goal is to change the degrading view of women so that all women will realize
that they are not an object, but each woman is valuable person and should have same
privileges and rights as men

Other than that, the feminism element can also be seen through the description
of the place setting which is in Salinas, California. ‘The high gray flannel fog of winter
closed off the Salina’s valley from the sky and all over the world’ and “every side it sat
like a lid on the mountain and made of great valley a closed pot”. The story starts out
with the description of a grey fog over the place where the story is set. The significance
of this is to set the mood of the story. It represents of how the main character of the
story, Elisa Allen, felt about her life. The term ‘closed pot’ here shows how Elisa’s life
trapped in man’s world. She is trying to find place for her in her society as well as
establishing her sexuality.

The title “The Chrysanthemums” itself is very significant. The chrysanthemums

symbolize Elisa and her limited life. “Oh, those are chrysanthemums, giant whites and
yellows” and “She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as
clear as water”. This shows that Steinbeck compares the beauty of chrysanthemums
which is yellow, lovely, and big as well as Elisa who is energetic, intelligent, and
attractive. However, in the story, it is mentioned that Elisa saw the dark spot of her
chrysanthemum on the road while she and her husband was on their way for dinner.
“ Far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew.
She tried not to look as they passed it, but her eyes would not obey. She whispered to
herself sadly, "He might have thrown them off the road.” This shows that like the
chrysanthemums, Elisa’s great ability was also underappreciated. The tinker’s rejection
of the chrysanthemums symbolizes the way society has rejected women as nothing
more than mothers, and housekeepers on that time.
 Besides, the language used to describe Elisa is also related to feminism. “her
face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-
eager, over powerful.” Steinbeck uses very positive and strong words to describe Elisa.
“Handsome”( of men) is large strong features, having an attractive face and figure and
“Powerful” is physically strong ,having great power ( Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary, 5th edition) usually refer to men but in “The Chrysanthemum”, the author
gives it to a woman to show the strength of the character.

To conclude, the elements of feminism can be clearly seen in “The

Chrysanthemum”. Women should be given the same rights like men and it is not
relevant anymore in this era to stereotype them in their traditional roles as nowadays
there are lots of women who are more excellent than men.

(1010 words)
References
Bressler, C. E. (1994). Literary Criticism . An Introduction to Theory and Practice. New
Jersey: Prentice- Hall.

John Peck, Martin Coyle. (1984). Literary Terms and Criticism. London: Macmillan
Education LTD.

SparkNotes LLC. (2011). Retrieved March 2, 2011, from Spark Notes Website:
http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-chrysanthemums/context.html

John Steinbeck - Biography.( 2011) Retrieved March 2, 2011 from Nobelprize.org :

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-bio.html

John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" (2011) . Retrieved March 1, 2011 from

Suite101.com Websites :

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APENDICES
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1962

John Steinbeck

Biography
John Steinbeck (1902-1968), born in Salinas, California, came from a family of moderate
means. He worked his way through college at Stanford University but never graduated. In 1925
he went to New York, where he tried for a few years to establish himself as a free-lance writer,
but he failed and returned to California. After publishing some novels and short stories,
Steinbeck first became widely known with Tortilla Flat (1935), a series of humorous stories
about Monterey paisanos.

Steinbeck's novels can all be classified as social novels dealing with the economic problems of
rural labour, but there is also a streak of worship of the soil in his books, which does not always
agree with his matter-of-fact sociological approach. After the rough and earthy humour of
Tortilla Flat, he moved on to more serious fiction, often aggressive in its social criticism, to In
Dubious Battle (1936), which deals with the strikes of the migratory fruit pickers on California
plantations. This was followed by Of Mice and Men (1937), the story of the imbecile giant
Lennie, and a series of admirable short stories collected in the volume The Long Valley (1938).
In 1939 he published what is considered his best work, The Grapes of Wrath, the story of
Oklahoma tenant farmers who, unable to earn a living from the land, moved to California where
they became migratory workers.

Among his later works should be mentioned East of Eden (1952), The Winter of Our Discontent
(1961), and Travels with Charley (1962), a travelogue in which Steinbeck wrote about his
impressions during a three-month tour in a truck that led him through forty American states. He
died in New York City in 1968.

John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968.

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1962

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-bio.html

John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"

The Art of Expressing Self-Giving Through Simplicity

Jan 16, 2010 Laura Shrader

John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums" is a brief but profound glimpse into the inherent
need a woman has for expressing her innermost emotions and desires.

“The Chrysanthemums” delineates the inner longings of Elisa Allen, the wife of a rancher,who feels an
unconscious need to display her usefulness in a way more meaningful than the simple farming life she
leads will allow.

Profundity in Simplicity

The insufficient outlets for her womanly affection are shown in her daily work and interaction
with people she displays in the story, demonstrating her need for self-expression, for fulfillment
in a life that seems inadequate in her point of view. Steinbeck skillfully represents a universal
dilemma throught the representation of a remarkably simple life.

An Opportunity for Self-Expression

The pivotal moment in the story where this need for self-recognition occurs is in Elisa's reaction
to a traveling salesman, a peddler searching for business whose wanderings have led him to her
farm. When he asks about her flowers, she sees an opportunity to demonstrate her area of
expertise. She delves into an explanation of the delicate care they require, and it is only when he
shows appreciation for her art that she displays some level of interest in his craft.

From Emotional Release to Extremism

Elisa’s interest takes on a new level, however, when she begins questioning the peddler on his
lifestyle, and her interest in his gypsy career escalates into jealousy. The fact that such a way of
life is thrilling to her is demonstrative of how much she has let her own life deteriorate into
something she feels is unworthy of her ability, of her potential. She is dissatisfied; she feels that
the daily work and toil of a farmer’s wife do not give her sufficient opportunity to display the
depths of love, affection, and strength of which she is capable. Before he leaves, Elisa gives the
peddler some chrysanthemum bulbs to pass on to one of his customers, and included in this gift
is a part of her own self, an act of heroism in her own eyes.

The Final Inability to Find Beauty in Simplicity

At the end of "The Chrysanthemums", Elisa and her husband are driving into town for an
evening out, and she sees the peddler pulled off to the side of the road. Her reaction is not for the
welfare of the peddler, however; her last words in the story are directed at the welfare of her
flowers. She thinks he pulled over to keep the bulbs safe, no other reason. She weeps, “weakly,
like an old woman,” but tries to hide it. She is unable to balance what she perceives as strength,
which is to hide weakness, and emotional release, which would be to share her thoughts and
desires. In the end, she is as she was: unable to cope with this conflict of stoicism versus the need
to express love, affection, and self-giving.

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