The Chrysanthemums
by John Steinbeck
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See Also
- Theory of Short Fiction (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- John Steinbeck (Censorship (Ready Reference series))
- John Steinbeck (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
- John Steinbeck (Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century)
- John Steinbeck (Identities & Issues in Literature)
- John Steinbeck (Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition)
- John Steinbeck (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Steinbeck
- First Published: 1938
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: 1937
- Setting: The Salinas Valley in California
- Characters: Elisa Allen, Henry Allen, Man in a wagon
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Betrayal, Emotions, Feminism, Farms, farmers, or farming, Loneliness
- Locales: United States, North America, Salinas Valley, California
The Story
Elisa Allen, a woman approaching middle age, is at a point in her life when she has begun to realize that her energy and creative drive far exceed the opportunities for their expression. Her marriage is reasonably happy—when she notices that her husband is proud of selling thirty head of steers he has raised, she gives him the compliment he hopes for, while he, in turn, appreciates her ability to grow flowers of exceptional quality. There is an easy banter between them, and while they have settled into a fairly familiar routine, they are still responsive to each...
(The entire page is 2090 words.)
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