John Steinbeck’s short story, The Chrysanthemums, written in the late 1930’s focuses on the central theme of feminism and how women are bound by society. One may note that this story was written right around the time that the country was recovering from the Great Depression, and women’s rights were a hot political topic. In The Chrysanthemums, Steinbeck portrayed the struggle for equality through the protagonist of the story, Elisa Allen. Elisa, wife …showed first 75 words of 1085 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1085 total…conclusion, the reader is able to tell that Elisa has no desire to be strong anymore. She relates the way she feels in several symbolic ways. One was by asking Henry if women ever go to those fights, and the others were when she turned her face from him, said it will be enough for her if they can have wine at dinner, and then when she began to cry weakly, like an old woman.