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Gender Roles In John Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums'

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Society can force people into roles, whether it be because of their gender or social status. In “The Chrysanthemums”, Elisa Allen, a young, intelligent woman, is confined to her neat, tidy little garden, where she spends all day planting flowers. She is forced to watch from afar as her husband makes all the business deals and provide for them. She is exceptionally skilled as a gardener, and her husband, Henry, tells her that she’s “got a gift with things”, and that he wishes she would “work out in the orchard and raise some apples” (Steinbeck). When she hears this suggestion, Elisa’s eyes sharpen, and she becomes interested, saying, “Maybe I could do it too. I’ve a gift with things, all right”, however, Henry simply dismisses her and the idea, saying, “Well, it sure works with flowers” (Steinbeck). …show more content…

Because she lives in a misogynistic society, even though she is intelligent and skilled, Elisa is forced into the life of a stay-at-home wife. Similarly, in “A Rose for Emily”, society forces Emily Grierson into the role of the perfect southern woman. She was born into a higher class, and spent her whole life being sheltered by her father. Because of her seclusion, she was a very lonely woman, and was not very close to anyone in the town. In fact, the town viewed her as “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”, not even recognizing her as a real person (Faulkner). Before Homer arrived at the town, Emily never married, or even dated, since her father turned away every potential suitor for not being good enough. This further increased her seclusion from the town, making it seem like Emily was above all of them, a monument to be looked up to. Due to her higher social status, Emily was forced into a life of solitude, not even being recognized as a

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Mr. Grierson, Emily’s father, prohibited her from socializing with men because, in Mr. Grierson’s eyes, there was no man suitable for Emily. After being tired of being alone for so long, Emily decided to date Homer Barron. Homer Barron was a Northerner and worked as a foreman for a construction company. The older folks of the town were excited for Emily, there was even talk about marriage between the couple. However, the younger crowd did not believe Homer was that of Ms. Griersons high status.

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Originally when the community found out Emily was interested in Homer, they were happy that she had found someone because she seemed hopeless. However, the happiness did not last long. The townspeople began to feel

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In “The Chrysanthemums” By John Steinbeck the main character is Elisa Allen, she is a strong woman who has planting hands. Her planting hands have a mind of their own and destroy pests before they can destroy her plants. She is so good at planting her flowers that she is smug and confident about her plants and loves to talk about them, whether it is to her husband or to a complete stranger. She is resistant with the man who comes to ask for work mending pots and sharpening knives and scissors that is until he mentions her flowers. She feels that she could make it out in the world just like the man does even though it is no place for a woman.

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When Steinbeck first gives an image of Elisa with her chrysanthemums as a mother it is clearly a feminine image, but the house gave a more masculine look with a “ hard-swept looking little house with hard-polished windows ” (Steinbeck 228 ). This statement represent the relationship between Elisa and Henry, her husband. Henry does not notice her femininity, because he is always working on the farm with the cattle, which makes Elisa feel hostile against him. Their poor harmony towards each other make them dissatisfied with each other. For example when Henry makes a comment towards her chrysanthemums he says that “ I wish you'd work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big ” ( Steinbeck 228 ).

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Not only that, as Homer becomes a popular figure in town and is seen taking Emily on buggy rides on Sunday afternoons, it scandalizes the town and increases the condescension and pity they have for Emily. They feel that she is forgetting her family pride and becoming involved with a man beneath her station. Even though Emily is from the high class family, it does not mean that she is living up to the pleasant lifestyle. As a matter of fact, she is actually living a gloomy and desolate life, which is essentially the opposite lifestyle expected for Emily's rank in society by the townspeople. Although Emily once represented a great southern tradition centering on the landed gentry with their vast holdings and considerable resources, Emily's legacy has devolved, making her more a duty and an obligation than a romanticized vestige of a dying order.

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All over the world, in the past and even today, there has been a major problem called sexism. Women everywhere are being oppressed and marginalized. There are no real reasons for this, except for the fact that they are women. John Steinbeck’s exploration of a real-world issue, which is sexism, is clearly shown in Of Mice and Men and The Pearl through the characters of Curley’s wife and Juana.

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In John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums," the setting plays a significant role in conveying the protagonist Elisa's emotional and psychological state. Specifically, her gardening costume, which includes a man's black hat, clod-hopper shoes, a big corduroy apron, and heavy leather gloves, serves as a symbol of her desire to hide her femininity and present herself in a more masculine manner. As Steinbeck describes, Elisa's choice of clothing suggests that she is deliberately masking her femininity and presenting herself in a more masculine way. The man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes and the heavy leather gloves protect her from the sun and soil but also obscure her face and hands, which are often considered traditionally

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In the beginning of the story, Steinbeck describes Elisa as having masculine qualities. “Her face was lean and strong and … her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume…” (Steinbeck 237-238). The word “strong” describes her many times throughout the story. She is so strong that the stems of the chrysanthemums “seemed too small and easy for her energy” (Steinbeck 238). As the story progresses, her attitude goes through a significant

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Elisa is not the most feminine woman, “[h]er figure look[s] blocked and heavy in her gardening costume…” (204). This imagery of a heavy, blocked figure is very masculine which contrasts from the feminine, nurturing imagery of Elisa caring for her chrysanthemums as if they were her children. This hard and masculine image of Elisa leads to a lack of romance within her and Henry’s marriage. Elisa feels as though Henry doesn’t see her as feminine which causes her to be hostile toward Henry. While Henry seems aloof of Elisa’s needs, Elisa is not quick to tell Henry what her needs are; this lack of communication not only adds to Elisa’s frustration, but leaves her unable to properly handle the Tinker.

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“A Rose for Emily” is a dark, suspenseful Gothic tale in which a young girl is put on a pedestal by a town who sees her as haughty and scornful. Miss Emily Grierson’s father controls her and her love life, pushing away all people until he dies and Emily is left alone. As her life goes on the townspeople watch her and judge Emily, almost turning her life into a spectacle to be talked about. At her death, a gruesome sight is unfolded when her lover of over forty years ago is found decomposed in her upstairs room. William Faulkner effectively builds epic suspense in “A Rose for Emily” by the unchronological order of the story, the treatment of Emily’s father towards her, and her family’s history of mental illness.

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"The Chrysanthemums" revolves around a female character that tends to a garden on a farm with her husband. We soon learn that she is not as happy as she is perceived and that she is not as respected as she would like to be. Elisa is introduced as a strong woman when she is gardening but as the story progresses, we see that her strength is not truly real. Elisa lives in a world where she is secluded and deprived of freedoms due to a society that believes women should play passive roles. As the story develops so does Elisa 's struggle to find her strength and a stronger presence in society.

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1135 Words | 5 Pages

In the early nineteenth century, John Steinbeck wrote a short story titled “The Chrysanthemums” that broke ground on the repressed sexuality of women in that era. Women of the nineteenth century were extremely repressed by the patriarchal society that was in power in that era, so they often were not able to express their femininity and their sexuality. The Nineteenth century woman that “The Chrysanthemums” follows is Elisa Allen, a middle aged farmer's wife. Elisa dresses rather mannish in the beginning and throughout most of the story, excluding of course at the end of the story when she wears a dress to go out to town. Elisa is also exuberantly passionate about her chrysanthemums and her sexuality and femininity is linked directly to her flowers.

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225 Words | 1 Pages

Secondly, the first man to come along and show interest in Emily was Homer Barron who did not intend to stay around… forever. Homer shows up to town for construction work on the sidewalks outside her house. The town notices that they are spending a lot of time together, but feel she has downgraded since Emily is an old-fashioned Southern. Homer is the first man to ever show interest in her since her father’s death. After some time, Mr. Homer finishes the construction work and leaves town, but eventually comes back after Emily’s cousins leave.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Kierrah Edwards ENGL 201 9/20/15 Character Analysis: Emily Grierson The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner depicts how seclusion can certainly impact one’s life. Throughout the story, Emily gives off this “insane” impression. However, after fully reading the story, the reader can fully understand why Emily was the way she was. Emily Grierson was a very dependent person.

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925 Words | 4 Pages

Meeting Homer Barron was her biggest change from her old self, because her father did not allow her be in any relationships, but she went out in public with Homer “driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable” (454). Consequently, this was only because she was living in her own reality and believed that Homer would be the one to marry her. Homer was “not a marrying man” (454) and would not marry Emily, but she refused to accept the denial of marriage from him, so she killed him to keep him with her forever. She stayed within her house to keep herself in the Old South. When she told the men to see Colonel Sartoris, she was not aware that “Colonel Sartoris had been dead for almost ten years” (452) at that point.

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