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Essay On The Chrysanthemums

884 Words4 Pages

Women's roles have changed throughout time. Both The Chrysanthemums, written by John Steinback, and The Story of an Hour, by Kate Choppin, are stories that use both direct and indirect characterization on women and their roles in their time. Throughout The Chrysanthemums, there are examples of our protagonist Elisa Allen struggling as a woman in the 1930s Great Depression society. In The Story of an Hour, it focuses on the fact that the protagonist, Mrs. Louise Mallard, feels oppressed and stripped of her freedom as a person. In addition, these two women grew from their pain, but were still seeking for more. Elisa Allen, the protagonist of The Chrysanthemums was miserable, a 35 year old women, and dressed manly when tending to her flowers. ‘Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod- hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big …show more content…

Directly, he states that Elisa is 35, miserable, dresses like a man, and seems to be strong but is also sensitive. He tells us that occasionally she does dress up nicely, but her husband only has ‘genuine’ compliments in these moments. This is sweet, but Elisa wants more than just a compliment once in awhile. "Why—why, Elisa. You look so nice!"-"Nice? You think I look nice? What do you mean by 'nice'?" (Steinback). Indirectly, Steinbeck lets us know that she is not happy in her life. Elisa is stuck in the role of trying to be the perfect housewife, when all she really wants is a life happiness and love. “She turned up her coat collar…she was crying weakly—like an old woman” (Steinbeck 5). When Elisa saw her flowers in the middle of the road, it made her realize that what she had done earlier in the day was ridiculous and lousy. While Elisa has a soft side to herself, we mainly see her trying to be strong the whole

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