Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" takes place during a time when women were expected to present themselves in certain, socially acceptable ways and to behave differently from men. Elisa struggles to fit into "the right kind of life for a woman" (691). She experiences difficult emotional urges like wanting more out of life than simply being an obedient wife. Elisa is a strong-minded, intelligent person who wants change, but she lacks the courage to take action in a world where women have no support or voice in society. In the end, she only wins a small battle in the fight for equal rights as a woman.
             In the opening scene, Elisa is in her small gated garden. She is wearing men's clothing and covered in dirt. Steinbeck describes Elisa as "handsome." This is used to symbolize her wanting to be part of the world that was exclusive to men during this time. Elisa is like the flowers she cares for in her garden, and Henry is like the gardener. The chrysanthemums are rooted to the soil, just like Elisa is rooted to life on the ranch. She has no way to leave her life. Henry provides everything she needs, just as a gardener provides everything a flower needs. Elisa has no way to grow on her own. She is stuck on the ranch, because this is all she knows. Elisa cannot obtain the life she so badly desires. She feels truly happy when she is in her garden pruning her chrysanthemums. As a thirty five year-old, childless woman, the chrysanthemums are like surrogate children. Elisa spends most of her free time there in the garden with her flowers.
             Elisa is expected to dress, act, and think differently just because she is a woman. This is evident when she goes to the porch and sits down "stiffly" (693) to wait on Henry. She even lays out Henry's clothes and runs his bath water for him, because this is what women are expected to do. Henry says he wishes Elisa could work in the orchards because she ha...