In the story The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck, is about a housewife, Elisa who wants to be seen as more than a housewife. She has a unique talent of gardening, especially growing Chrysanthemums. However, her husband's, Henry does not see her hobby in a bright light as much as she’d like. She does not feel appreciated by her husband yet she can’t find the courage to tell him. The story is presented to readers through a 3rd person limited point of view. This point of view is necessary to the story because Elisa feels unappreciated and this point of view forces us to take a closer look from her perspective, which nobody in the story has done.
Elisa wanted her husband to motivate her to do better. She wanted to be seen as an audacious woman rather than a typical housewife. She lived in a “closed off Salinas Valley” (Steinbeck 581) where she was isolated. She had a devotion for …show more content…
Once again, Elisa felt very isolated yet she did not say anything. The salesman came to Elisa in regards to making a deal that Elisa had no desire to make. She told him repeatedly that she had no work for him to do. However, that changed as soon as the salesman commented on her plants. She had proudly responded that “Those are chrysanthemums… I raise them every year bigger than anybody around here” (Steinbeck 585). This was the first time Elisa had been questioned about her flowers that she takes pride in. Not even her husband showed any interests toward her passion in flowers but the salesman did. He did it in regards of making a sale, which he was very successful at. Elisa had given him “two old ... battered aluminum saucepan” (Steinbeck 586). Even though Elisa was naïve to see the salesman’s motive, she was very happy to be recognized for her work. Although this was such a small act, to Elisa it was more than that because for the first time she actually felt like her desire for gardening was somewhat
Elisa wanted her husband to motivate her to do better. She wanted to be seen as an audacious woman rather than a typical housewife. She lived in a “closed off Salinas Valley” (Steinbeck 581) where she was isolated. She had a devotion for …show more content…
Once again, Elisa felt very isolated yet she did not say anything. The salesman came to Elisa in regards to making a deal that Elisa had no desire to make. She told him repeatedly that she had no work for him to do. However, that changed as soon as the salesman commented on her plants. She had proudly responded that “Those are chrysanthemums… I raise them every year bigger than anybody around here” (Steinbeck 585). This was the first time Elisa had been questioned about her flowers that she takes pride in. Not even her husband showed any interests toward her passion in flowers but the salesman did. He did it in regards of making a sale, which he was very successful at. Elisa had given him “two old ... battered aluminum saucepan” (Steinbeck 586). Even though Elisa was naïve to see the salesman’s motive, she was very happy to be recognized for her work. Although this was such a small act, to Elisa it was more than that because for the first time she actually felt like her desire for gardening was somewhat