John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" presents a warm but dark tale of a woman's thirst to find fulfillment and vitality in her mundane life and stagnant marriage. Steinbeck presents the turmoil inside the main character, Elisa Allen, by reflecting the dull qualities of the surrounding landscape. Set in the early 20th century, it is clear to the reader that a woman's marital discontent in this era was a matter of shame and secrecy; therefore, the author chose to allude to Elisa's agitation with inferences and vague dialogue to describe it from an unbiased and truthful perspective in order to invoke the reader's compassion and concern. Joseph Warren Beach states that Steinbeck's portrait of Elisa Allen is "one of the most delightful characters ever transferred from life to the pages of a book" (321). Symbolism and characterization are intertwined between the characters and setting, allowing the reader to understand both their inner desires and personal endeavors. In the author's characterization of Elisa, she is parallel personified in the way the day lacks majesty with its valley of fog leaving only golden flowers to resemble glimmers of sunlight that do not shine. Elisa is dissatisfied and restless, longing to return to life, to feel the rays of the sun in the warmth of love and appreciation from her husband, Henry. Additionally, the setting sets the stage not only for the mood of the story, but also for the main character. “It was a moment of calm and waiting. The air was cold and tender. A light wind was blowing from the southwest, so the farmers had a slight hope of a good rain before long; but fog and rain do not go together” (Steinbeck 460). As the story continues...... middle of paper ...... ribes the penetration of the night stars into the depths of her body, Elisa reveals here that she longs for such ecstasy and sweet liberation from its confinement. Unhappy marriage and unsatisfactory life. Indeed, Steinbeck triumphs in portraying Elisa's vulnerability and her desire for a life of exhilarating, unbridled love. Her precious moments of vitality from the preceding hours are quickly and harshly abandoned when she discovers that the traveling stranger has simply cleared the chrysanthemum shoots from the road; its precious chrysanthemums wither in a parched, unattended soil that can no longer provide flowers of delight or passion. The symbolism and parallelism in her characterization and setting details allow the reader to draw conclusions about each other, which adds great depth to Elisa Allen's round character..