Chrysanthemums-Steinbeck

In Steinbecks Chrysanthemums, I really like all the similies and metaphores he uses in this. For example: The fog sat like a lid on the mountains, She crouched low like a fawning dog-All of these similies help me imagine the scene and actions of the characters. Steinbeck describes the setting in Salinas very well, just as he does in all of his writings. To me, Elise - the husband of Henry ( who owned the ranch) was struggling to find out who she is, as a woman. She tries really hard not to be to lady like, but more as a "strong" woman. Steinbeck describes her as a "Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful". Handsome and mature are usualy terms people use towards men and boys."The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." These are all examples of the identity she is struggling with. She seems to be fighting an inner trouble within herself as a female. She seems to focus all her energy towards the chrystanthemum flowers, and she is very proud of her garden. She doesn't have any children, so this makes up for her emptiness in the family. When the traveler and elise come across eachother, Elise likes him and his personality, and who he acknowledges her garden, and well maintence of the garden. She shows her female side when he comes along by shaking down her hair. After he leaves, she gets ready to go out to dinner with henry, and then she is complimented by him- henry says she looks "nice", and she questions what he means by that. Elise did not just want to accept "nice", but she earned for something else, until he says she looks "strong and happy", and yet again, elise is not pleased with this answer. Henry says that it looks like she can "Break a calf over her knee", but Elise wanted a more internal meaning of strong-as in a strong woman, not by physical strength. There are many woman today who feel this way about their feminity, and Elise portrays a woman who struggles with that, the only difference is the time the story took place in, which back then, women were simply women, and were typicaly not allowed to question that.