Comparing Stories: The Astronomers Wife & The Chrysanthemums
argumentative Essay
866 words
Recently, I saw a movie about female tennis champion – Billie Jean King, and although I have never been into the feminism (neither can I say that I quite understand it), her character woke up some other kind of sensitivity in me. After this – to me significant change – I could not help myself not to notice different approaches of John Steinbeck and Kay Boyle to the similar thematic. They both deal with marital relationships and it was quite interesting to view lives of ordinary married couples through both “male” and “female eyes”. While Steinbeck opens his story describing the Salinas Valley in December metaphorically referring to the Elisa’s character, Boyle jumps directly to Mrs. Ames’s inner world. Although both writers give us pretty clear picture of their characters, Boyle does it with more emotions aiming our feelings immediately, unlike Steinbeck who leaves us more space to think about Elisa Allen.
Mrs. Ames from “The Astronomer’s Wife” and Elisa Allen from “The Chrysanthemums”, two women in their best ages, did share similar lives. They were loyal wives, of decent beauty and good manners. They were married for some time, without any children and they were fighting the dullness of their marriages. At first, it looked like they were just caught in marriage monotony, but after the surface has been scratched deeper, it was clear that these two women were crying for attention: but they had different reasons.
While Boyle describes Mrs. Ames as elegant, gentle, and quiet, Steinbeck gives to Elisa more strength. Her face was “lean and strong”, and her figure looked “blocked and heavy in her gardening costume”. Both women find their own ways to cover lack of happiness in their everyday lives. The astronomer’s wife is managing the house finding the silliest things to keep her busy: “…from the removal of the spot left there from dinner on the astronomer’s vest to the severe trashing of the mayonnaise for lunch”. Elisa spends her days in garden raising chrysanthemums “bigger than anybody around here.” The fact that these two women did not have any children can mislead us to the conclusion that they were both trying to satisfy the instincts they were probably having at the age of thirty-five. While this is the case with Elisa, the astronomer’s wife had different problem: the lack of communication with her husband and incapability to understand the world he was in.
In this essay, the author
- Compares how boyle describes mrs. ames as elegant, gentle, and quiet, while steinbeck gives to elisa more strength. both women find their own ways to cover lack of happiness in their everyday lives.
- Analyzes how kay boyle gave to mrs. ames a feminine look. she is aware of herself and is open to flirting. steinbeck made elisa harsh and resistant.
- Narrates how the astronomer's wife touched the ground even though she knew that it is not going to last, but she finally felt it. elisa became a woman, at least for that day.
- Compares the approaches of john steinbeck and kay boyle to the similar themes of marital relationships.
Related
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- narrative
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- Analyzes how elisa's emotions of femininity and sexuality rejuvenate from the repression her husband henry had brought into her.
- Analyzes how elisa is reborn and has the inspiration of a bright direction to feel more feminine.
- Analyzes how elisa is trapped in the ranch with her unconscious husband henry, but her femininity is overshadowed by either her clothes or her bodily figure.
- Describes elisa as a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives in the salinas valley ranch, far from society. she lacks contact with anybody and everything from the outside world.
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- Analyzes both plath and whitman's poems, and concludes that appearance is vital in a woman’s marital role.
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In this essay, the author
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- Analyzes how adrienne rich's "aunt jennifer" revels that aunt jennifer is a seamstress, but not by choice but by force. the fearless, rambunctious tigers represent her real self.
- Analyzes how emilia in shakespeare's othello, the moor of venice, is more courageous against patriarchy, but still submits to its unbearable weight.
- Analyzes how elisa, aunt jennifer, and emilia are fighting against male domination. they find their own ways of defeating their inner demons.
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1087 wordsRead More - Living Inside The Fence You Createanalytical essayElisa's unhappiness in her role as the wife of a cattle farmer is clear in her gardening. Through the authors detailed diction it is clear that gardening is her way of freeing herself from her suffocating environment. “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy” which is “over-eager” and “over-powerful” (Steinbeck 460). The intensity with which she gardens, “terrier fingers destroy[ing] such pests before they could get started” suggests more than simply a deep interest, but a form of escape completely submerging her self into the task (Steinbeck 460). It is possible that some...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how elisa's unhappiness in her role as the wife of a cattle farmer is clear through s detailed diction. the vigor with which she does her chores and her gardening illuminate her energetic spirit
- Analyzes how elisa's life is collected, controlled, and clean while the tinker lives a life of careless freedom.
- Analyzes how elisa's demeanor changes when the repair man turns to her chrysanthemums. the more the man shows an interest in her flowers, the more she lets her true self show.
- Analyzes how elisa's inability to step beyond her boundaries leads to her unhappiness and feeling of entrapment in her feminine role.
- Analyzes elisa's reaction when she sees her flowers strewn on the side of the road. she is aware of her power as a female, but she doesn't mind vocalizing her strength and pride in powerful statements.
- Cites renner, stanley, and steinbeck, john. "the chrysanthemums" in modern fiction studies.
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- Analyzes how elisa in john steinbeck's "the chrysanthemums" is unsatisfied with her life as a farmer’s wife. she wants to be able to do the things men do without being criticized.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how elisa's indifferent nature catches her attention with uncertainty and cynicism. his easy observation boosts her significance and she forgets his tedious way of life.
- Analyzes how elisa inspired from the tinker man strips away all the masculinity that hindered her aspirations. she dressed slowly, carefully, and expressively for herself that night.
- Analyzes how john steinbeck uses symbolism to reflect the characteristics of his main character elisa allen in "the chrysanthemums".
- Analyzes how the "red" pot symbolized elisa's powerful breakthrough to be recognized more than a woman only capable of doing housework.
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- Analyzes how john steinbeck uses the setting as his main source for development in his story, "the chrysanthemums."
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how steinbeck's "the chrysanthemums" is told in the third person, but the narration is presented almost entirely from elisa’s point of view.
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In this essay, the author
- Narrates how elisa allen tends to her chrysanthemums while her husband is talking to some businessmen. after striking a deal mr. allen wants to celebrate and have dinner in town.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the barber, henry hawkshaw, addresses the harsh injustices of racism in the south during the 20th century.
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- Analyzes how theodore roosevelt's notion of progressivism was that progress was made through social change. the characters of "richard cory" and "the chrysanthemums" defy societal expectations to eliminate oppressive and stereotypical ideals about gender, race, and wealth.
- Analyzes how arlington's poem shows how misguided the laborers were to think that wealth gives happiness. robinson shows that true and eternal happiness never stems from material desires.
1059 wordsRead More