The Chrysanthemums Feminist Analysis

Equality - the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. Something that women have strived to achieve throughout history and continue to fight for even today. In the United States in particular, women have fought to be seen as man’s equal since the nation’s birth. John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums was released in 1937, during the feminist literary movement that advocated equal rights for all women. In the same year Frances Perkins was appointed the Secretary of Labor, making her the first female cabinet member in the history of the United States. She was one of the few women in the 1900’s that gained equality in the male dominated society. “For most women, liberation was a bitter fight usually ending in defeat” …show more content…
Gender stereotyping is defined as “simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes, differences, and roles” (Fatihah 2). In The Chrysanthemums, Elisa represents the female gender. She is told that she can’t do things or won’t like things because of her gender. When Elisa is talking with the tinkerer she tells him how she wishes she could do what he does. However, the tinker responds by telling her, “It ain’t the right kind of life for a woman” (Steinbeck 8). Later on he adds, “It would be a lonely life for a woman, ma’am, and a scary life too, with animals creeping up under the wagon all night” (Steinbeck 8). The tinkerer is telling her that she can’t do something just because she is a girl. Towards the end of the story when Henry and Elisa are driving into town, Elisa shows interest in the fights, but Henry tells her again that she wouldn’t like them. Henry says, “I don’t think you’d like it, but I’ll take you if you really want to go” (Steinbeck 11). Henry says this because in the 1930’s women were still expected to fill traditional roles as homemakers. Women were expected to be soft and gentle and weren’t expected to even be interested in masculine things like fighting. These examples are stereotyping because even though Elisa is a woman, she could still do everything a man can. When Elisa is first introduced, she is described as “blocked and heavy” because she is wearing work clothes and “a man’s …show more content…
Steinbeck shows this by portraying patriarchy and gender stereotyping throughout The Chrysanthemums. What readers need to understand about The Chrysanthemums is that Steinbeck wrote about a woman’s “place” according to his time period. Whether he intended it or not, The Chrysanthemums has “contributed to the progress in equal gender rights and responsibilities” that we see today (“The Chrysanthemums”: An Early Depiction of Gender’s Role