Essay on A Woman Bound by Society in Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums

A fair sex Bound by conjunction in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums When John Steinbecks short story The Chrysanthemums counterbalance appeared in the October 1937 edition of Harpers Magazine (Osborne 479), Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been reelected president. The country was recovering from the Great Depression, unions were developing, and baby labor in manufacturing was terminated (Jones 805-6). The first female cabinet component in American history, Frances Perkins, was appointed the Secretary of Labor (Jones 802). She was one of the a couple of(prenominal) women in her time to gain equality in a male-dominated society. For some women, liberation was a bitter fight usually ending in defeat. In The Chrysanthemums, this struggle for equality is portrayed through Steinbecks character enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Allen. According to Stanley Renner, The Chrysanthemums shows a strong, capable woman kept from personal, social, and sexual fulfilment by the prev ailing conception of a womans role in a universe of discourse dominated by men (306). Elisas appearance, actions, and speech depict the thwarting women felt in Steinbecks masculine world of the 1930s. Steinbecks world, observes Charles A. Sweet, Jr., is a mans world, a world that frustrates even minor league womens liberationists (214). This frustration is evident when Elisa is first introduced. Her figure is described as blocked and grave because she is wearing heavy gloves, heavy shoes, a mans black hat, and a big apron that hides her printed trim back (Steinbeck 330). Her home has the masculine qualities of being hard-swept and hard-polished (Steinbeck 330). Elisa is bored with her husband and with her demeanor (McMahan 455). Obviously, Elisa is unhappy with the traditional female role and is attempti... ...et al. America and Its people Volume Two From 1865. London Scott, Foresman, 1989. McMahan, Elizabeth E. The Chrysanthemums A Study of Womans Sexuality. ripe prevari cation Studies 14 (1968-69) 453-8. Marcus, Mordecai. The Lost Dream of Sex and Childbirth in The Chrysanthemums. Modern lying Studies 11 (1965) 54-8. Osbourne, William R. The Texts of Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums. Modern Fiction Studies 12 (1966-67) 479-84. Renner, Stanley. The Real Woman Inside The Fence In The Chrysanthemums. Modern Fiction Studies 31 (1985) 305-17. Steinbeck, John. The Chrysanthemums. literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan Day, and Robert Funk. 2nd ed. New York Macmillan, 1989. 330-6. Sweet, Charles A., Jr. Ms. Elisa Allen and Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums. Modern Fiction Studies 20 (1974) 210-14.