illustrated profile of a woman's head with cracks running through it set against a chrysanthemum background

The Chrysanthemums

by John Steinbeck

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Style and Technique

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It is clear from Steinbeck’s epic novel of American experience, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), that he is particularly sensitive to the effect of landscape on a person’s life. Because Elisa Allen’s sense of her own self-worth is so closely tied to the land, Steinbeck has chosen to connect her psychic state to the season, the climate, and the terrain she inhabits. The mood of the story is set by his description of a fogbound valley in winter, a description that is also applicable to Elisa’s mood. She is entering middle age, and when the valley is likened to a “closed pot” with “no sunshine . . . in December,” there is a close parallel to the condition of her life at that point, a sealed vessel with little light available. Steinbeck calls it “a time of quiet and waiting,” and the land, Elisa’s only field of action, is dormant, with “little work to be done.”

Elisa is earthbound, rooted securely in her garden but also held down by her connection to it. It is significant that her excitement in talking to the stranger is expressed by a vision of the stars and by her exclamation that “you rise up and up!” The stranger is not bound to a particular place, and although his freedom to roam is only a step removed from endless exile and rootlessness (as exemplified by Elisa’s uprooting her plants, only to have them thrown away and left to die on the road), it is appealing in contrast to her chainlike connections to the earth.

Elisa is also seen alternately as a part of a larger landscape and as a small figure in an enclosed area. The story unfolds from an inventive cinematic perspective, as Steinbeck first describes the entire valley in a panoramic view, then moves closer to focus on the ranch in the valley, and then moves in for a close-up of Elisa working in her garden. Throughout the story, the perspective shifts from Elisa’s narrow and cramped domain, walled or fenced in, to the entire ranch, and to the world beyond. Then, in a final shift, Elisa’s shock is reflected by an image of multiple confinement, as she is enclosed by a wagon, surrounded by her seat and hidden within a coat that covers her face. It is not an image designed to create confidence in Elisa’s prospects.

Historical Context

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The Great Depression

Steinbeck penned ‘‘The Chrysanthemums’’ in 1934, during the early recovery phase of the United States from the Great Depression. The Depression began with the New York Stock Market crash in October 1929, eventually impacting global employment and productivity. Banks failed and businesses shut down. Millions became unemployed, and with less money circulating, consumer spending dropped, causing more factory closures and further unemployment. There was no federal ''safety net'' at the time, so impoverished and hungry individuals had to depend on state assistance beyond what their families could provide. In many states, no help was available. In 1932, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched a series of programs, known as the New Deal, to revive the economy. He reformed the banking and stock market systems to enhance stability, established the Public Works Administration to create jobs, and introduced new protections for labor unions to secure fair wages and decent working conditions.

The Depression did not affect all Americans equally; some even became wealthier during the 1930s. With prices lowered by the Depression, living well required less money. Essentials like food and housing, as well as luxuries such as restaurant meals and fashionable clothing, became cheaper because so few could afford them worldwide. Some regions, not directly impacted by industries like coal-mining and cotton-growing—California included—continued to prosper. Elisa and Henry Allen appear to be among those minimally affected by the Depression. They own a tractor and a car and do not seem to be in dire need of the money Henry earns from selling his steers.

Steinbeck himself lived relatively comfortably, albeit simply, throughout the early 1930s, even before he began earning substantial sums from his writing. His wife Carol earned a modest salary as a typist, allowing him to dedicate all his time to writing. They supplemented their diet with fish they caught and inexpensive local produce. However, Steinbeck was not unaware of those less fortunate. His novel In Dubious Battle (1936) focuses on migrant workers striking in California's apple fields. Investigative newspaper articles he wrote about migrant worker camps in 1936 inspired his most acclaimed work, The Grapes of Wrath (1939).

Forgetting Their Troubles

Even in the more stable and prosperous areas of the country, the mood was bleak during the depression. To momentarily escape their worries, Americans flocked to movies and sports like never before. The film industry did its part by building elaborately decorated movie theaters where anxious people could enjoy grand musical comedies, fantastical horror films, and heartwarming family movies featuring stars like Shirley Temple. Movie tickets were affordable, and about 40% of the American population attended the cinema weekly. One in four individuals went at least twice a week. With the advent of sound in films, Hollywood, California, became the world's premier hub for filmmaking. Although 1931 marked the first television broadcast, widespread commercial networks and home televisions were still years in the future.

Sports offered another form of distraction for the somber populace. The 1932 Summer Olympic Games took place in Los Angeles, while the Winter Games were held in Lake Placid, New York, marking the first time the Winter Games occurred in the United States. Football and baseball attracted large audiences, and boxing was a favored spectator sport, with American champions like Jack Sharkey, Max Baer, and Joe Louis holding world heavyweight titles.

Literary Style

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Imagery

As is common in Steinbeck's fiction, "The Chrysanthemums" employs clusters of images to subtly emphasize key themes and ideas. For instance, the imagery of seasons and weather highlights the contrast between Elisa's life and the tinker's. Elisa's existence is enclosed and restricted, as depicted in the story's opening line: "The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world." The atmosphere in Elisa's world is bleak; there is "no sunshine in the valley now" and the air is "cold and tender." In contrast, the tinker moves freely, able "to follow nice weather." He is not confined to this isolated place, and when he drives away, Elisa notices, "That's a bright direction. There's a glowing there." Later, as she looks again in the direction he has gone, she notes that "under the high gray fog," the willows appear as "a thin band of sunshine." For Elisa, there is "no sunshine in the valley," but for a man who can travel, the horizon holds promise.

The story includes other clusters of images that function similarly. As Ernest W. Sullivan, II, points out in Studies in Short Fiction, "The correspondences between people and dogs elucidate the social and sexual relationships of the three humans, as well as foreshadow and explain Elisa's failure at the end of the story to escape from her sterile and unproductive lifestyle." R. S. Hughes explores the color yellow, in the "yellow stubble fields" and the willows' "positive yellow leaves," and concludes, "These bright sunny yellows (including Elisa's chrysanthemums) in the midst of winter suggest Elisa's hope, rekindled by the tinker, for a more fulfilling life." Images of hands, animals, enclosures, and of course, the chrysanthemums themselves, can be analyzed for insights into Steinbeck's and the characters' intentions.

Point of View

"The Chrysanthemums" is narrated by a third-person observer who clearly reports the characters' actions but cannot access their thoughts or motivations. This limited third-person perspective helps create the story's mood by replicating for the reader the experience of Elisa and Henry hearing each other's words but having to infer their meanings. When the tinker admires the beauty of the chrysanthemums, the narrator does not interject to reveal his insincerity; the reader must uncover his deceit as Elisa does. Similarly, when Henry struggles to find the right words to please Elisa and explain himself, the reader shares Elisa's frustration at being unable to read his thoughts.

The third-person narrator also keeps Elisa's inner thoughts hidden, adding significantly to the story's enigmatic atmosphere. Although Elisa is the main character and the reader feels a strong connection to her, she is only revealed through her behavior and dialogue. Why does Elisa "start" at her husband's voice? Why does she attack the weeds with such intensity? What occupies her mind during those long hours in the garden? The reader is never informed.

After the tinker leaves, Elisa prepares for her evening out. The narrator details her preparations with captivating specificity: "she scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red. When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body. She tightened her stomach and threw out her chest. She turned and looked over her shoulder at her back." These peculiar actions clearly indicate moments of reflection for Elisa, which continue as she sits on the porch, gazing toward the river, "unmoving for a long time." Steinbeck highlights these intense emotional reactions but deliberately leaves their meanings unexplained. This ambiguity has led to a substantial amount of criticism of "The Chrysanthemums," with each essay potentially revealing as much about the critic as about Elisa Allen.

Expert Q&A

What is the tone in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"?

The tone in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" is characterized by feelings of oppression, confinement, and longing. Elisa Allen, the protagonist, is portrayed as isolated and emotionally unfulfilled in her domestic life, symbolized by the enclosed garden and foggy landscape. The story's language evokes a sense of wistfulness and yearning for freedom and connection, as reflected in Elisa's interaction with the tinker, highlighting her desire for a broader, more vibrant life.

Compare and Contrast

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1930s: The Great Depression hit the United States and other countries hard, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. Soup kitchens and bread lines became common. Despite this, California thrived in the early 1930s due to its booming motion picture, oil, and fruit industries.

1990s: The global economy is relatively robust and stable, with the United States enjoying a strong economy characterized by low unemployment and high productivity. However, some economists warn that rapid changes in Asian economies could pose a risk to the United States.

1930s: Popular films of this era included King Kong (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), and movies featuring Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire, and the Marx Brothers. These films were typically glamorous and optimistic, offering audiences an escape from economic and political hardships. Most movies were in black-and-white, and tickets cost about twenty-five cents. Around one-third of Americans attended the cinema at least once a week.

1990s: Popular movies now often feature special effects and science fiction, almost always in color. Many of these films present a grim outlook on human issues. Movie tickets cost between six and eight dollars. While fewer Americans go to the theater, many watch films at home on videocassette.

1930s: Although new homes were being wired for electricity, most older homes lacked it. Housework was done manually without electric appliances, making it a laborious task. The first electric washing machine for home use was produced in 1937.

1990s: Most American families either have washing machines in their homes or access to affordable laundromats nearby. Typical households are equipped with electric lights, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and other appliances that simplify housework.

1930s: Many American farmers still relied on animals to pull plows and other equipment, though some, like Henry Allen, used tractors and other machinery. While horse-drawn wagons for long-distance travel were rare, they were not unheard of.

1990s: Apart from certain communities that reject modern technology, like the Amish, American farmers use gas-powered tractors and advanced equipment. Most roads do not allow horse-drawn vehicles.

Media Adaptations

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''The Chrysanthemums'' was transformed into a twenty-three-minute film by Pyramid Film and Video in 1990. This version is available on a 1/2-inch VHS videocassette from Pyramid.

The process of creating the film adaptation is documented in the ''Behind the Camera'' segment of Fiction to Film. This forty-minute program, which delves into the intricacies of filmmaking, was produced by Mac and Ava Motion Picture Productions. It is distributed on videocassette by the Indiana Department of Education, Instructional Video Services.

Bibliography and Further Reading

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Sources

Adams, Carol J., Introduction to Ecofeminism and the Sacred, New York: Continuum, 1993, p. 1.

Beach, Joseph Warren, American Fiction, 1920-1940, New York: Macmillan, 1941; reprinted New York: Russell & Russell, 1960, pp. 3, 311-14.

Benton, Robert M., "Steinbeck's The Long Valley," In A Study Guide to Steinbeck: A Handbook to His Major Works, edited by Tetsumaro Hayashi, Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974, p. 71.

Davis, Elmer, Review of The Long Valley: The Saturday Review of Literature, September 24, 1938, p. 11.

Gide, Andre, The Journals of Andre Gide, translated by Justin O'Brien, London: Secker and Warburg, 1951, Vol. 4, p. 79.

Hughes, R. S., John Steinbeck: A Study of the Short Fiction, Boston: Twayne, 1989, p. 26.

Marcus, Mordecai, "The Lost Dream of Sex and Childbirth in 'The Chrysanthemums,'" Modern Fiction Studies, 1965, Vol. 11, p. 55.

Osborne, William, "The Education of Elisa Allen: Another Reading of John Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums,'" Interpretations, 1976, Vol. 8, p. 11.

Renner, Stanley, "The Real Woman Inside the Fence in 'The Chrysanthemums,'" Modern Fiction Studies, 1985, Vol. 31, pp. 306, 313.

Steinbeck, John, Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, edited by John Steinbeck and Elaine and Robert Wallsten, New York: Viking, 1975, p. 91.

Sweet, Charles A., "Ms. Elisa Allen and Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums,'" Modern Fiction Studies, 1974, Vol. 20, pp. 211, 213.

Timmerman, John H., John Steinbeck's Fiction: The Aesthetics of the Road Taken, University of Oklahoma Press, 1986, pp. 63, 67.

Further Reading

Benson, Jackson J., The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography, New York: Viking, 1984.
This comprehensive biography spans over one thousand pages and provides the most detailed exploration of Steinbeck's writing process. The book also includes numerous photographs.

Burg, David F., The Great Depression: An Eyewitness History, New York: Facts on File, 1996.
This work features over one hundred firsthand accounts from the 1930s, including newspaper articles, interviews, letters, memoirs, photographs, and documents from both leaders and everyday people, offering a vivid picture of life during this era.

French, Warren, John Steinbeck, Boston: Twayne, 1975.
This book provides a general overview of Steinbeck's life and works, including a chronology, an annotated bibliography, and an indexed discussion of all his major writings in chronological sequence.

Ockenga, Starr, Earth on Her Hands: The American Woman in Her Garden, Clarkson Potter, 1998.
This book features interviews with eighteen women master gardeners who discuss their horticultural practices and the impact of gardening on their lives. The book is richly illustrated with color photographs.

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