Analysis of Elisa's character in the short story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck.

Quite often, the limits that bound a woman to her conventional standards are the cause of women's sufferings. The battle for equality has not come to pass because men hinder their ways. For a long time this has been accepted in society as the ways things are. John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" mirrors Elisa's frustration she feels in a masculine world, and her aspiration to enjoy the life that a true woman deserves. Elisa has to …

…underlying traits of loneliness, repressed sexuality, and her wish as a nurturer show this. Elisa's transformation involves the shedding of qualities associated with masculinity, and the embrace of femininity. But femininity does not have a place in this society. It is either disregarded, as demonstrated by Henry; or it is used and discarded as shown by the salesman. She recognizes that, as a woman, her justifiable longing will be subdued as it has always been.