bolic of her transition. Tearing off her "soiled clothes" and flinging them into the corner, "she scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red." This is symbolic of Elisa coming out of her old being, releasing a newness she had become to know. She "tightened her stomach and threw out her chest…She put on her newest under-clothing and her nicest stocking and the dress which was the symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips." All of this is brought about because one man took interest in her private pleasure-the chrysanthemums. Her connection with the peddler has made her come out of the fence that she is so used to being inside of. She is free and she likes it. Elisa has seemed to undergo a complete metamorphosis from being an unsocial housewife to a confident woman when she makes this connection. She boasts, "I am strong. I never knew before how strong." Unfortunately, at the conclusion of Steinbeck's short story, Steinbeck has her fall right back into the rut she so despised. When she realized that the peddler had dumped out the seeds and soil, and she comes back to reality and "turned up her coat collar so her husband could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman." She is crushed and all that she had gained that day was taken away. This story expresses how easy it is for someone's hopes and confidence can be crushed if it is given into the wrong person's hands.The title "The Chrysanthemums" is used to point out that Elisa's chrysanthemums are an image of her. The image reflects how she feels towards children through her flowers, what her vulnerabilities are, and how she uses them to make connections. Elisa accomplished what she always wanted, but in the end a careless peddler took that away. She returned to being her old self, the self that lived within her own garden and fenc...
