Answer to Question 1
- Although there are several possible general themes (the inequality of men and women or a California farm during the Depression), ask students to articulate a more specific theme, such as a womans artistic frustrationwhether spiritual, sexual, or emotionaland societys failure to recognize her gifts.
Read paragraph 71 out loud, noticing that this is a compelling expression of what happens when an artist allows inspiration to come. After all, Elisas garden is an artistic expression (despite her repressed environment) and may be viewed as an extension of herself. Compare Elisas work in her garden to John Steinbecks own words about his work as a writer: I work because I know it gives me pleasure to work. It is as simple as that and I dont require any other reasons (from a 1933 letter cited in
John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography, by Jackson J. Benson New York: Penguin, 1984 272). As a point of context, Steinbeck himself experienced a great deal of failure and artistic frustration in 1934, the year that he struggled to write this story.
Answer to Question 2
- In the end, Elisa tries to satisfy her spiritual and erotic cravings by asking Henry if they might order wine with their dinner. It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty. It isnt enough, of course, and she cries weaklylike an old womanshe who had briefly thought herself strong (par. 121).
Her new interest in prize fights, in the spectacle of blood-letting she had formerly rejected, might manifest Elisas momentary wish for revenge on men: her desire to repay them for her injured femininity. At least, this is the interpretation of Elizabeth McMahan as well as Mordecai Marcus (The Lost Dream of Sex and Childbirth in The Chrysanthemums,
Modern Fiction Studies 11 1965: 5458). Alternatively, one may see in this curiosity about the violence of the boxing ring a womans envy of the opportunities given to men to work off their aggressions and frustrations in socially acceptable ways. Another interpretation may be that she finally realizes that since men (represented in both Henry and the salesman) do not have any genuine interest in her chrysanthemumsand therefore they have no sincere interest in herselfshe might as well try to understand the man with whom she is boxing inside her wire fence.
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