Coming Of Age In Steinbeck's 'Chrysanthemums'

Part of aeach human’s experience is about learning who one they isare. The process of making oneself betterbettering yourself as a human being is known as coming of age. The definition of coming of age is to grow or become more mature. Elisa in the story “Chrysanthemums” does not come of age because she is distant from the people around her, can’t experience the world, and can’t control her emotions when a problem deals with her flowers.
Living a distant life can have dire effects on a person which Elisa consistently displays in the story which acts as the first reason on why Elisa does not come of age. When Henry, Elissa’s husband, approaches Elissa, she nervously asks,“ Henry, who were those men you were talking to?” ( Steinback 2). Just by hearing the phrase, rReaders can tell something is not sitting right with her as if she were riddled with anxiety or fear. These characteristics in her voice are signs she is disconnected from the people around her. Elisa most likely does not receive much attention in her life from other people, and Henry appears to be Elisa’s only person to talk with. Without Henry, Elisa would truly be alone which would cause her to feel even more distress than she already does. Elissa may have abandonment issues which is why she tensed up when she saw Henry speak to the people from the meat company. Elisa’s self-alienation stops her from coming of

Multiple examples of her insulting and being offended are reasons on how she feels distressed and the toll they take on her life. For all of these reasons, readers can vividly tell Elissa does not come of age because she is distant, trapped in her life, and finally can not control her emotions when it comes to her flowers. John Steinbeck did an excellent job of leaving traces of her distress throughout the book and having readers piece together her inability to mature from her natural