Elisa Allen’s Dual Personality, Essay Example

In the short story The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck depicts Elisa Allen as a complex women with a multifaceted personality. Elisa is a woman that appears to have two conflicting personalities, constantly at war with each other. She is depicted a revolutionary , willing to go against society’s standards and expectations of women,  while at the same time a timid woman who seeks to suppress her womanliness.

The story Chrysanthemums is a story that depicts a single day in the life of a woman who desires a richer life than she has, one that completely satisfies her. During this day, Elisa meets a stranger who appears to hold all the answers she has been looking for. She fills her heart with excitement and the hope for a different and more fulfilling life. However, by the end of it, she realizes it was nothing but a lie and she has been used.

A Radical

When Elisa is first brought into the picture, she is depicted as a woman who wears manly clothing, which makes her figure appear to be manly. Her clothing depicts that she is a woman who is not afraid of standing against society’s expectations as pertains to her roles and duties as a woman.

Timid

Her dressing makes her appear like a man, depicting her attempts to suppress her womanliness. This may also signify the fact that she is a woman who is repressed by her duty to society and her family. This is evident at the end of the story when despite the fact that her husband calls her strong, she fails to believe these words. She exclaims that if she is so strong then she would not; “crying weakly – like an old woman”?

In conclusion, John Steinbeck portrays Elisa Allen as a complex woman with as multifaceted personality. While she depicts defiance in her clothing and relations with the tinker, she also appears to be timid and subdued in her relationship with her husband. Her relationships with the two men highlight dual personality.

Works Cited

Lewis, Leon. “The Chrysanthemums.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series (2004): 1-3.

Palermino, Gregory J. “Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums.” Explicator 62.3 (2004): 164-167.

Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” Kirszner, Laurie G and Stephen R Mandell. Compact Literature: Redaing, Reacting, Writing. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 628-636.