'Gender Roles In John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums'

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Recommended: Depiction of women in literature

Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” uses the tension between a wandering homeless man and Elisa Allen to suggest that although many women are dissatisfied with their roles in the household, the deepness at which gender roles are ingrained in society prevents them from assuming the positions that they want. Elisa flirts with the homeless man, but is reminded by him that her place as a woman is in the household; although she feels dismay at the thought, she does not challenge it due to the apparent inevitability of her situation. After passing him on the road later she is reminded of the fact that she will never be free to live life like the man, causing her to cry and feel “like an old woman:” (Steinbeck, 268) helpless when it comes to controlling

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