What is the theme in the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Essay

What is the theme in the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck - Essay Example All what Elisa can perform is to watch Henry from a distant as he performs his job. Any kind of detail that reaches her about the ranch management is conveyed indirectly from Henry, who only speaks unclearly, and in with words of humiliation instead of treating his wife fairly as an equal partner. The tinker appears cleverer as compared to Henry, however does not have Elisa’s passion, spirit, and desire for adventure. As per Elisa, he may even match the skills of tinker. Yet, it the one who is favored for a ride about the country, leading an adventurous life that he imagines is flabby for women. Steinbeck employs the tinker and Henry as substitutes for the paternalism of patriarchal societies in common: the way they ignore women’s potential, the same the society does. Steinbeck outlines that urge for sexual fulfillment is incredibly powerful and causes an individual to behave in an irrational way. Henry and Elisa are in a functional marriage but very passionless and they appear to treat one another more of a sibling than a spouse. From the story, Elisa is a tough woman associated with sexuality and fertility but lacks even a single child, revealing the nonsexual character of her relationship with Henry. Regardless of the fact that her marriage does not fulfill her needs, Elisa has remained a sexual person, a behavior that Steinbeck portrays as desirable and normal. From her frustrated sexual desires, Elisa’s attraction to the tinker is astonishingly uncontrollable and powerful. When she tells about staring at the star at night, for instance, her language is through and nearly pornographic. She goes on her knees before him and in a position of sexual submission, looking and reaching out towards him, as the narrator describes it, â€Å"like a fawning dog.† In quintessence, she subjects herself at the intimacy of a completely unfamiliar person. The outcome of Elisa’s strong attraction is perhaps even much destructive than the desirability itself.