What if you had to work all day, not make any decisions, not get nice compliments, and get betrayed, all in one day. Well for Elisa Allen in The Chrysanthemums by: John Steinbeck this is a reality. She has to work, she has to do things for her husband, and a friendly tinker cheated her out. In this Story the struggles that Elisa Allen face, supports the theme that women are treated different in society. The first struggle that Elisa faces, is the role she has on their ranch. While she is always tending to her garden, her husband, Henry Allen, is out with people making deals, managing money, and protecting the ranch. All day Elisa is working on her garden all day, everyday. “Elisa Allen, working in her flower garden, looked down across the …show more content…
Elisa is always working and always tired, and one night Henry wants to take her out. “We’ll go to a movie.” (80). Elisa has been working all day and Henry doesn’t let her pick where they want to go. What if Elisa didn’t want to go see a movie. This shows that the male picks where he go and doesn’t treat the women fairly, so that they can go where she wants to go. Another example of this struggle is when Henry compliments Elisa. “I mean you look different, strong and happy.” (355). When Henry says this to Elisa, she feels like there is something wrong with being different. Henry doesn’t seem to like the new Elisa. This just shows that Henry talked to Elisa saying she's different, and he is saying that she is different in a poor way. Elisa also gets treated roughly by the tinker. When the tinker comes by her house, he notices the chrysanthemums, and he tells her someone up the street would like some. So he would deliver it to them. When Elisa gives him the chrysanthemums, she decides, in return to purchase a pot. However when she is driving to the movie at night she “saw a dark speck.” (375). The man lied to her just so that he could get a buyer on a pot. She started to cry when she saw the flowers because she felt like she got treated unfairly because she wanted the tinker to deliver the flowers, and he didn’t, he just threw them