Feminist Perspective of John Steinbeck's The ChrysanthemumsJohn 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 limits of her role as a woman in such a closed society. While her environment is presented as a tool of social repression, it is through nature, in her garden, that Elisa acquires and shows her power. As the story progresses, Elisa struggles to extend this power beyond the fence that surrounds her garden. Ultimately, Elisa learns, but does not easily accept, that she possesses feminine power that is weak for the time, and not the masculine power she had tried so hard to achieve through her imitation. The work begins with a look at the setting of the story. “The Chrysanthemums” was written in 1938 and the story takes place around the same time. It's winter in California's Salinas Valley. The most striking feature is the “gray flannel fog” that hid the valley “from the rest of the world” (396). The mountains and valleys, the sky and the fog encapsulate everything inside like a “closed pot” (396). Inside this isolated habitat, the environment attempts to change. While the farmers wait for an improbable rain, Elisa and all the women hope for a change in their cooped-up lives. Steinbeck foreshadows: “It was a period of calm and waiting” (396). The action of the story opens with Elisa Allen working in her garden. It is surrounded by a fence, which is physically there to protect its flowers from farm animals. This barrier symbolizes his life; she is isolated from the real world, from the world of men. This is a smaller, terrestrial version of the environment in which they live. This man... in the middle of paper... means she couldn't be strong yet. The peddler's business of selling his pot repair service closes the women out of his world just as natural fog closes the valley. Although we hope that her tears can be compared to the pruning she does to her precious chrysanthemums, cutting them for future, stronger growth, Steinbeck leaves the reader wondering about the future of women. Elisa's tears will not rid the valley of fog, because, as Steinbeck tells us at the beginning, "fog and rain don't go together" (396). While Elisa will continue to dominate her immediate surroundings inside the fence using her power from nature, she will not gain power outside of it, in a man's world. Work cited Steinbeck, John. “Chrysanthemums”. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.

Essay / Feminist Perspective of John Steinbeck's The ChrysanthemumsJohn 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 limits of her role as a woman in such a closed society. While her environment is presented as a tool of social repression, it is through nature, in her garden, that Elisa acquires and shows her power. As the story progresses, Elisa struggles to extend this power beyond the fence that surrounds her garden. Ultimately, Elisa learns, but does not easily accept, that she possesses feminine power that is weak for the time, and not the masculine power she had tried so hard to achieve through her imitation. The work begins with a look at the setting of the story. “The Chrysanthemums” was written in 1938 and the story takes place around the same time. It's winter in California's Salinas Valley. The most striking feature is the “gray flannel fog” that hid the valley “from the rest of the world” (396). The mountains and valleys, the sky and the fog encapsulate everything inside like a “closed pot” (396). Inside this isolated habitat, the environment attempts to change. While the farmers wait for an improbable rain, Elisa and all the women hope for a change in their cooped-up lives. Steinbeck foreshadows: “It was a period of calm and waiting” (396). The action of the story opens with Elisa Allen working in her garden. It is surrounded by a fence, which is physically there to protect its flowers from farm animals. This barrier symbolizes his life; she is isolated from the real world, from the world of men. This is a smaller, terrestrial version of the environment in which they live. This man... in the middle of paper... means she couldn't be strong yet. The peddler's business of selling his pot repair service closes the women out of his world just as natural fog closes the valley. Although we hope that her tears can be compared to the pruning she does to her precious chrysanthemums, cutting them for future, stronger growth, Steinbeck leaves the reader wondering about the future of women. Elisa's tears will not rid the valley of fog, because, as Steinbeck tells us at the beginning, "fog and rain don't go together" (396). While Elisa will continue to dominate her immediate surroundings inside the fence using her power from nature, she will not gain power outside of it, in a man's world. Work cited Steinbeck, John. “Chrysanthemums”. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.

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