Rebecca Joseph
English 1121/5431
Professor Cipriani
September 19, 2011
Just A Dress Behind the Big Apron
There are times where we find ourselves in situations where we succumb to our weaknesses. However the question is “whose fault is it?” Ours? Or the people in the situation? In the short story The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck, writes of thirty-five year old Elisa Allen, who was isolated from the real world. Believing she was strong, she experiences some of the outside world and her true character was revealed – a women. Elisa tears for many reasons but they all lead to one main cause. The main reason for her watery outward emotion is her lack of self decision making, being in a marriage that does not seem healthy and acting like someone she is not.
The Chrysanthemums” is a story that is set during an era when women did not have the privileges men did. During this era, women were expected to do house work, such as cleaning the house, preparing the food, catering to their husband, and performing garden work. In the passage, Elisa was found in the flower garden, preparing the bath tub and clothing for her husband, Henry. She was always behind the fence in her house, she did not bother to explore beyond the fence. She abided by the rules – not being equal to man. She did not stand up for herself when she had the desire to do something she wanted to. If Elisa had real experiences from the outside world before she encounters the stranger with the wagon, then she would have handled the situation better then the story mentioned and not been used and sadden with tears in the end. Not willing to take risks and go beyond boundaries can leave one in a phase of helplessness and ignorance -not knowing what to do when you come across certain predicaments just as Elisa does.
Elisa’s role in her marriage also had an effect on her coming across this trouble. Elisa was married to someone who did not help to better her and face what was beyond the fence. The communication of the marriage did not exist. Her husband does not seem to think to take her out, however she does not ask him to do that. Elisa seems as if she did not have input in the marriage. She never told Henry how she truly felt; what she really wanted. From the questions she asks her husband, it seems as if she was interesting on what was in the outside world. Her dishonesty with her husband regarding her feelings is a factor to occur in the end. She would hide her feelings or her true interest, for instance, she ask questions about the fight matches but then acts as if she did not seem fascinated by saying “No, I wouldn’t like fights.” One other time, Henry had asked “what’s the matter?” Elisa acted as if everything was all right. Not being completely honest, Henry thought that Elisa was satisfied of what she was doing with her life, by staying home and doing house work. If there was strong communication within the marriage, then perhaps Henry would truly understand Elisa, and provide support to whatever she desired to do or go, which in this case the outside world.
Elisa seems to fool herself in the beginning long before she run into the stranger. Elisa believed and acted as if she had a muscular trait. One can see this as they look into the beginning of the passage where Elisa is found in the flower garden, working with the scissor as “over-eager, over powerful” where as the “chrysanthemums stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” Another occasion in the passage, Elisa was scooping the chrysanthemums out for the stranger to give to the “lady down the road” she got the plant with her “strong fingers” Being close to the outside world, Elisa imagines being as strong as a man. The way she handles the flower gives her the thought that’s she is tough as a man but in the end she was just a women in “a figure print dress behind almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron” In other words, Elisa was a soft old women covered by the idea that she is “strong” “over-eager” and “over powerful.” You can not be strong if you have not been through tests, experiences, or challenges which show your true potential. So in this case, Elisa is not that strong because she has not experienced outside world and when she encounters the stranger with the wagon she was eager to show how “strong” she is. She fails in the end, learning that that the stranger uses her. As Elisa creates a false self-image of herself, she portrays herself as a strong woman but in truth is weak mentally. If Elisa did not pretend and accepted the fact the type of person she truly is, then she may not have ended in tears.
Nevertheless, all the factors that caused the trouble leads to Elisa and her miscommunication, lack of courage and delusion. She was not being herself – hiding how she feels and what she wants to do – and believing to have a trait she does not have. Even though Elisa may had been strong, possibly not strong enough as a man. In the end, Elisa could not run from who she truly is. Elisa and other women such as herself could of had several potential to offer to society which lead to many benefits but however there is something that is holding them back which is man. Many women are controlled by men and they accept to play the role their husband wants and make no attempt to change it. As this carry on, the idea of being a woman is defined as weak, helpless and inferior.
