Elisa Allen: A Mystified Identity Essay

John Steinbecks short story The Chrysanthemums is centered on the protagonist named enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Allen. The shiny port slamal of her character in different parts of the story makes the indorser wonder who she re all in ally is. Steinbeck started by portraying her as a strong and comeledgeable gardener, with a sense of masculinity, adjacent which she is portrayed as someone who yearns for sexual attention in her sensual encounter with the toy, and concluded with her being described as a beautiful, feminine lady, and then back to her masculine self all within a continue of a few hours.The evolution in the expressions, emotions, and the portrayal of enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Allen is an important element of Steinbecks The Chyrsanthemums. Firstly, enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Allen is described and presented in a very masculine manner. The words strong, a mans black hat and heavy leather gloves showcase the masculinit y. Additionally, her features described as, her face was eager and mature and liberalover-powerful. lend substance to her masculinity. Interestingly, this description of enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay is in stark contrast to the societal perception of females in that era who are meant to be more feminine.The fact that she is she is thirty five years old and has no children also de-emphasizes her femininity. However, this presentation of masculinity augurs well with her acuity for business which is demonstrated in her interest in knowing more about the talk of her preserve, Henry Allen with the men in business suits. Also, her negotiation skills with the tinker showcase the business acuity of Elisa that has gone unnoticed by Henry. The societal norms have fixed that she carry out her role as a gardener with penchant. As a result, Elisa devotes all of her energy to maintaining her house and garden.Although she rightly brags about her green thumb, Elisas connection t o nature seems earlier coerced and not something that comes as naturally as she claims. She knows a great deal about plants, most credibly because as a woman, gardening is the only thing she has to think about. This constant tussle between her femininity and her masculinity lend an interesting insight into Elisas character. Next, Elisa is been demonstrated as a woman who lives an unsatisfying, under stimulated and frustrated life who looks to the tinker for a stimulating conversation and even off sex.Her physical attraction to the tinker and her flirtatious, witty conversation with him bring out the poet in Elisa. The phrases, she shakes out her tenacious pretty hair and with her eyes shining, she admits the stranger into her yard. She strips off her protective gloves, she looks deep into his eyes, searchingly and She was kneeling on the ground looking up at him. Her breast swelled passionately. describe the sensual encounter of Elisa with the tinker. During this encounter, the re is also evidence of how unsatisfied Elisa is with her life when she says the following, Ive never lived as you do, hardly I know what you mean.When the night is darkwhy, the stars are sharp-pointed, and theres quiet. Why, you rise up and up Every pointed star gets driven into your body. Its like that. Hot and sharp andlovely. This statement also showcases the poet in Elisa. Besides the poetic conversation, it symbolizes the level of incompleteness in her life. It seemed that she got carried away in the heat of the moment, and realized at a later point and felt ashamed of what she did and had been saying. After the sensual encounter with the tinker, the femininity is showcased of Elisa is showcased at its fullest by the narrator.Firstly, when she tries to deck up up and present herself as a beautiful lady. This is seen in the following narration of the scenario, After a while she began to dress, slowly. She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked cautiously on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips. Following the dressing up, and presentation up in front of Henry, the conversation that the couple have is nothing less than hilarious. Evidently, Henry is not used to seeing Elisa dress up and presents her in the feminine manner that she did.The banter that takes place between Henry and Elisa, especially when describing her as strong and glad and You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon was amusing. This conversation clearly showed that Henry did not know how to react to Elisas femininity, supporting the fact that Elisa could have been unsatisfied with her current alliance with Henry, and hence seeking an escape in her encounter with the tinker who seemed to be more receptive and grateful to her.However, the conversation that took place while in the caravan negated the short burst of feminism in Elisa and wa s overpowered with a sense of masculinity by the topics of their conversation which included wine over dinner, and women going to fights. This could be because of the realization that nothing has changed. She is still the same lady who was gardening a few hours ago. The tinker, despite showing interest and stimulating her, was only concerned in his profit, and was manipulative to say the least.Interestingly, in the final metre of the story, the narrator describes Elisa as a weak, old woman. In conclusion, the narration has been so vivid that the reader could see the emotions and the constant tussle that Elisa faces as a woman and a wife. Her life as a woman has been confined to her duties as a gardener, with no affection and love been shown by her husband Henry. This incompleteness in her life leads her to seek solace in her encounter with the tinker where she sees a ray of hope to experience her feminine self.However, this feel-good experience is short-lived when she says her ch rysanthemums that she gifted to the tinker lying on the road. This tattered her dreams of being a free woman, and brings her back to reality. The reality of course is that she is confined to her reserved, unfulfilling, monotonous life as a wife with no children. The pace at which she experienced the highs and lows of her life, in a span of a few hours is note-worthy and adds to the literary value of Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums.