Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums

Symbolically Restricted

In the short story "The Chrysanthemums," John Steinbeck is the author that develops a theme of restrictions which the main character cannot escape. The story is fundamentally a man in the mirror story where the rigid Elisa sees herself for the first time as trapped. Although Elisa has recognized her life as limited and confining, she sadly accepts her life as is and does nothing to rectify her situation. She feels unfulfilled and is held back from her actual abilities by her husband. The symbolism of the garden, the fence, and the chrysanthemums help represent Elisa’s restricted life as she discovers it for herself.  
For the most part, the idea of limitation or imprisonment is presented as the story begins. With this entry the example of restriction is displayed "the high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot” (p.209). Inside this closed pot, Elisa exists in even lesser confines that pushed her to her breaking point. Her only getaway is through working in her beloved garden, which is confined by a wire fence. She makes sure in that there are, "no aphids, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms” (p.210). The wire fence is the first symbol and serves a dual purpose to the garden. It keeps harm from Elisa's precious chrysanthemums but gives nice view to its attractiveness. The fence represents Elisa's constricting marriage. The fence allows a clear view of the world and what it has to offer but prevents the growth of the garden and hopes and dreams of Elisa.
Elisa Allen is a woman who knows she has a gift for growing things, but it seems to be limited to her beloved garden. Conscientiously working in her garden, Elisa watches as men and women come and go, living their lives happily unconfined, wondering what it must feel like to have that freedom. She urges to have that freedom...