The authors’ use of vivid details draws the reader into the lonely world of Elisa Allen. The dismal setting at the very onset of Steinbeck’s short essay, allows nature to become a part of the overbearing shadow of Elisa Allen’s hopelessly trapped existence. From the closed off valley to the fenced in garden, Elisa’s mundane covered pot imprisons her needs on various levels. As the story states, “It was a time for quiet and waiting”. She waits to be appreciated and taken seriously by her husband, Henry. She waits and longs for a meaningful sexual relationship that will have depth and substance in the prime of her life. She waits for a chance to fulfill her dreams of adventure, and yet even though she is strong, proud and willing she is never given the opportunity to discover who she is or what else she may be capable of doing. The strong, sturdy, beautiful chrysanthemums become an extension of Elisa. For when the flowers were well taken care of by her planters’ hands, they bud, thrive and grow into outstanding sturdy blossoms that are the talk of the county. She too would like to bud like the flower, to be opened up to new awakenings, adventure and feelings of appreciation and beauty. The fact that she longs to be a part of something bigger than herself is seen in the numerous brief trancelike depictions of her physically being at the ranch and yet looking toward the horizon at what possibly lies just out of her reach. The very first paragraph tells of the limitations and trapped feelings of the California ranch setting; “The high grey 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” (Steinbeck 101). The enclosed trapped theme is included cleverly throughout the unfolding story line. Steinbeck’s physical layout of the story includes the valley, the spotless “closed-banked” farm house and the the wire fence that protected her flower garden and kept her in and away from the men. The unspoken inequality boundaries are drawn by both her husband, Henry and the deceitful peddler. When Elisa eagerly offers sincerely to help, even though she is physically capable, meticulously organized and ready to start, both men feel threatened and condescendingly make fun of her or ignore her all together. She is trapped in the submissive housewives’ role, withering away at doing the menial household jobs that women were expected to do willingly. Trapped by what society’s views in the 1930’s of what is right and meaningful part of being a woman. Always from a distance, Elisa would admire, somewhat jealously, the freedoms men take for granted as they come and go as they please. Their work is important, vital and takes them to places that she can only dream about seeing. Henry was a stable hardworking man that made a decent living. He had a beautiful strong wife and a pristine home in a valley laden of good crops. Elisa is a hard- working, proud young woman in her prime. She is starved for attention and recognition of her worth and abilities. He is so wrapped up with his steers, crops and business adventures that he loses sight of his wife’s true desires sexually, spiritually, physically and mentally. They are on two completely different pages. There is no passion in the way he treats her. Henry treats Elisa as more of a convenient friend or servant that makes things look nice, lays out his clothes, and pours his bath. Because of his indifference she has become rigid, annoyed and stiffens up whenever Henry is near. When he does take notice of how nice she looks, Elisa is thinking of another mans’ witty banter, the way he described her beloved flowers as, “a quick puff of colored smoke” (Steinbeck 106). This peddler man understood her. He had what she couldn’t have; the freedom to travel, the freedom to follow your hearts’ desire and to do it effortlessly, leisurely, enjoying every minute of it. Should she have touched this stranger as he somehow deeply brought forth a buried yearning for what her husband could no longer give her? Again trapped with the nagging daydreams of the “what ifs” with a man she knew for a moment in time. Feelings of guilt, despair, hopelessness abound as Elisa is brought back to reality by the annoying slamming of the door, by Henry. Elisa Allen is a complex suppressed woman of the Depression era. She is exceedingly nurturing to her garden, as one would be with a small defenseless child. Her “planters’ hands” are strong and skillfully know what to do to enhance the flowers growth. “Everything goes right down into your fingertips. You watch your fingers work……(107-108). Although her chrysanthemums and garden bring her some delight, Elisa feels a longing for something more in life that she seems to be absent. When a passing peddler shows her a bit of attention, she is quick to openly oblige his advances; “She was kneeling on the ground looking up at him. Her breast swelled passionately. The man’s eyes narrowed. He looked away self-consciously. “ maybe I know”, he said…. Elisa’s voice grew husky. She broke in on him. “I’ve never lived like you do, but I know what you mean. When the night is dark-why, the stars are sharp-pointed, and there’s a quiet. Why, you rise up an up. Every pointed star gets driven into your body. It’s like that. Hot and sharp and-lovely” (Steinbeck 108).
This eventually makes them both a bit uncomfortable. But as he seems to take interest in the flowers, she feels that there is a connection on another level as well. When the chance arises from a seemingly genuine, kind, somewhat annoying male peddler, she momentarily considers having a sexual encounter and possibly he would carry her off with him to the wonderful land of mesmerizing travels along the California coast that he openly boasted of. The fleeting thought makes her feel ashamed, guilty and all the more lonely and pathetic on one level. But on another level, it energizes her confidence and sex appeal. In high Cinderella fashion, she goes from her androgynous garb to a beautiful, vital, blossoming woman ready to hit the town. She has an exciting new spin on life. This perfect stranger seemed to understand her passion for the flowers, her need for attention and her readiness to travel. Elisa’s fantasy knight in shining armor miserably fails the rescue scene, when later in the day she finds her precious chrysanthemums that she had graciously given the peddler thrown by the road side. She finally realizes that he never really liked the beautiful chrysanthemums that she cherished. He didn’t really care for her as well. It was all a rouse, a means to an end. The flowers, like herself, were unwanted, unloved and unimportant. Elisa had been denied twice that day a chance to break free from the old mundane, both by her husband and the sneaky smooth talking peddler. She is overwhelmed with disgust in herself and in men in general. She covers her face to cry as she realizes that once again the possibility of something exciting and new has been nothing but a mirage in a broken down old wagon. A schemer who also kept the pot.
The author has done a fine job of portraying a woman oppressed and striving for more out of life in the 1930’s setting. Steinbeck’s use of imagery and detail allows the reader to empathize with the struggling protagonist. From the closed pot mentioned in the first paragraph to the pot the peddler keeps, the sense of entrapment is woven into the very fabric of the story. Elisa is encapsulated not only by the otherwise extraordinary valley, but also deeply trapped within her depression and the thought of life passing her by. Elisa is a strong, attractive hard-worker who is looking for more satisfaction out of her meager existence. I think that we all have that feeling sometimes; that the grass does seem greener on the other side of the fence. It is somewhat tragic however to think that a vibrant woman like herself would remain suffocated by the very soil and land that transformed her crisp shoots into budding glories of color.
