The chrysanthemums

   The setting for this story says it all. It’s winter in Salinas’s valley in California -1938. Elisa Allen, an intelligent creative woman forced into unhappy existence on husband’s ranch. Henry Allen, sells cattle to meat companies. She worked on the ranch gardening and planting flowers. The story is more descriptive of how she takes care of her chrysanthemums. The flowers symbolized Elisa and how strong, beautiful, and thriving she is. Therefore, while planting her flowers she felt really protective and happy but aside from her flowers she felt insecure and trapped. A tinker approached her on the ranch while she was working on her flowers. He’s a gypsy (looks for jobs while traveling) fixes pots, pans, and so on. She felt the most free when the tinker appreciated her flowers. Elisa believed for once someone was interested in her life. She felt change from masculine to feminine so she starts removing her hat and gloves. Elisa wishes she had his life but more of his freedom. As he speaks to her, she felt feminine and after he leaves with the flowers she gave to him, she strips down, bathes, put on makeup, and a dress. But while she was on the car ride with her husband, she notices a dark spot on the side of the road. She takes her coat and covers her face and teary eyes. Seeing the flowers she gave to the tinker on the side of the road, made her feel insecure, not free, used and thrown away. The story was kind of interesting, not too bad.