The ChrysanthemumsJohn Steinbeck1902 – 1968

The story “The Chrysanthemums” written by John Steinbeck centers on a lonely woman named Eliza Allen. Eliza was a 35-year-old married woman with no apparent children. She was married to Henry who appeared to be a very stable man and also a good provider but not very attentive. Eliza is a frustrated woman. She is bored with her husband and her life.

I don’t think Eliza realized how mundane her life had become until she crossed paths that afternoon with the tinker. It appeared that from the very beginning there was a level of comfort between them. He pretends to be interested in her love for her flowers. He compares her flowers to a "quick puff of colored smoke" (Steinbeck 288).

There was a masculine edge to Eliza. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as c...