The Chrysanthemums Allegory Analysis Essay

The Chrysanthemums: Allegory Analysis

In the short story by John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums, symbolism, allegory and foreshadowing flood the story from start to finish. Steinbeck’s chosen words to describe the setting, plot and conclusion allows readers to evaluate and analyze the story in many ways. The story begins by describing the setting as enclosed, gray and repressive. Elisa Allen is introduced as the central character of the story, onto which the symbolism and allegory mainly affect. As the story develops further, Elisa’s encounter with a Tinker, leads her to “explode those repressed desires,” (Shockett) which have been suppressed by the symbolically “closed pot” (Steinbeck) in which the story takes place. The use of literary techniques

used by Steinbeck in the setting, plot and conclusion give meaning and room for open interpretation about the life on Elisa Allen on the foothills of the Salinas Valley.
The setting in The Chrysanthemums, takes place in the foggy, cold and pot-like enclosed valley of Salinas, where Henry Allen’s ranch is located. Steinbeck portrays the valley as “closed off…. from the sky and from the rest of the world,”(Steinbeck) allowing interpretation to believe that Elisa Allen, is shut off and prevented from the rest of society and all that is beyond the borders of the valley.
Elisa Allen is described as “eager and mature and handsome,” and “over-powerful”(Steinbeck), which gives the idea of a willing, talented, man. This means that Elisa is as capable as a man; however, she is constrained by the “ conventionalist society Elisa is eventually a member of “ (Shocket). Elisa maintains her garden and her home perfectly structured, that every nit and corner she cares for reflect her skill and talent. Despite of her ability to perfectly execute duties that may be unconventional for a woman, she is described in the story as a man, suggesting she is as able as a man, but suppressed to those duties fit for a woman. The tinker also becomes a part of the society that restrains Elisa to her womanly duties. The tinker, a man who travels and fixes pans and such things, asks Elisa for a job, she replies that she is capable of fixing her own things. Eventually she allows him to repair a couple pots for her; however, she mentions that she “ can show him what a woman might do,”(Steinbeck) which again she is aware of her abilities but can only perform her desired duties if approved by society.
As the story comes to conclusion, Elisa is saddened by the realization that her life as a suppressed woman is never going to end.

There are some suggestive elements that portray her marriage with parallel qualities of her repressive life. As she dresses for a dinner out to town, she is transformed into a beautiful and confident woman, leaving behind the manly clothing and handsome face. However, her husband does not acknowledge her femininity and desire to receive a compliment or gesture of love. Palmerino’s analysis on the story adds that “ she is mired in a mismatched marriage…. and ultimately any possibility for progression.” (166) The condition of the marriage between Elisa and Henry, reflect the same emotions that Elisa feels about being confined to the duties conventional for a woman. Henry and Elisa’s marriage lacks the sexual, emotional and spiritual fulfillment that Elisa needs. In this story, Steinbeck allows the audience to interpret the characterization that he gives to settings, development of the plot and the characters, in such a way that the portrayal can be subjective to each reader. In Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums, use of literary techniques and the male-dominated condition that society was at that time, create the perfect combination for a plethora of

exegesis.