“Chrysanthemums”
by
John Steinbeck
A Reminder
The incomplete Chinese translation
of “Everyday Use” (missing
paragraph 75 onward)
 The supplement is uploaded on the
Teacher’s Homepage.

A Question to Explore

Why some devoted Japanese
housewives would get online and
have cybersex with unknown people?
John Steinbeck
Nobel Prize winner
 Journalism in W. W. II.
 Born in Salinas, California, in the
fertile valley he remembers in
“Chrysanthemums”

Theme

Love Abused:
"我本將心託明月，誰知明月照溝
渠
(What does 「明月」as a metaphor
imply?)
Plot Analysis
The arrival of the caravan and the
initial rejection of Elisa of the pot
mender (Exposition)
 Elisa’s change of attitude
( complication)

Plot Analysis
Elisa’s attraction by the pot mender
and her inner disturbances (crisis)
 The discovery of the truth (climax)
 Elisa’s sadness and the consequent
anger (denouement)

Important Symbols
The wire fence
 The chrysanthemums
 The fog
 The season

Traditional Dualism about Gender
man vs. woman
 Masculinity vs. femininity
 Strong vs. weak
 Rational vs. irrational
 Intellectual vs. emotional
 Public vs. domestic

Problems in gender dualism
Arbitrary distinction of human
disposition by biological structure
 Value hierarchy based on gender
difference
 Arbitrary assignment of border and
field
 Intolerance about border-crossing
cases

Farm vs. Garden
----vs.
----vs.
----vs.
Public sphere
Domestic sphere
Economical production
Leisure activity
Male dominance
Female dependence
Wire Fence : Protection
“Elisa started
at the sound of her
husband's voice. He had come near
quietly, and he leaned over the wire
fence that protected her flower
garden from cattle and dogs and
chickens.”
(嚇ㄧ跳)
(9)
Wire Fence: Limitation
(the domestic sphere)
“‘You’ve got a gift (天份) with things . . . I
wish you'd work out in the orchard and
raise some apples that big.’ Her eyes
sharpened. ‘Maybe I could do it, too. I've
a gift with things, all right. . . ‘Well, it
sure works with flowers,’ he said. (11-13)
Henry vs. the Pot Mender
practicality
vs.
 daily routine
vs.
 reality
vs.
 the regular
vs.

romanticism
possibilities
dreams
the mysterious
& unknown
The Pot Mender:
mysterious & romantic

“His eyes were dark, and they were
full of the brooding
that gets in
the eyes of teamsters
and of
sailors.”
(沉思的)
(卡車司機)
(33)
The intrusion of the alien (1)
Elisa’s change from reserve and
resistance to bewilderment and
entrancement
 The mender’s position from outside
to inside the garden

The intrusion of the alien (2)
The change of Elisa’s outward
appearance from neutrality to
femininity
 The pot mender’s use and abuse of
love
 The blossom and shriveling of Eliza
as a flower

The gradual advance of the alien (1)
1) “The caravan pulled up to Elisa’s
wire fence and stopped.”
 2) “He leaned confidently over the
fence.”
 3) “The man leaned farther over the
fence.”

(29)
(42)
(56)
The gradual advance of the alien (2)
4) “‘
. . . Come into the yard.’ While the
man came through the picket
fence. Elisa ran excitedly along the
geranium -bordered path to the
back of the house.”
(木樁)
(天竺葵)
(63-64)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender 1
1) “I mend pots and sharpen knives and
scissors. You got any of them things
to do?“ "Oh, no," she said quickly.
"Nothing like that." Her eyes
hardened with resistance.
(43)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
2) “‘No’, she said shortly. . . ‘I’m sorry,’
Elisa said irritably. ‘I haven’t had
anything for you to do.’”
(48-49)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
3) The irritation and resistance melted
from Elisa's face.
4) Elisa's eyes grew alert and eager.
5) Her face was tight with eagerness.
(52)
(59)
(68)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
6) She stopped and seemed
perplexed. . . . She looked deep into
his eyes, searchingly. Her mouth
opened a little, and she seemed to be
listening.
(69)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
7) She was kneeling on the ground
looking up at him. Her breast swelled
passionately.
8) Kneeling there, her hand went out
toward his legs in the greasy black
trousers. Her hesitant fingers almost
touched the cloth.
(72)
(75)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
9) She stood up then, very straight, and
her face was ashamed.
(77)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
10) “After a while she began to dress,
slowly. She put on her newest
underclothing and her nicest
stockings and the dress which was
the symbol of her prettiness.”
(94)
The gradual change of Elisa’s
attitude toward the pot mender
11) “She
turned up her coat collar so he
could not see that she was crying
weakly--like an old woman.”
(122)
The Turning Point of Elisa’s Attitude:
The Chrysanthemums

“His eyes left her face and fell to
searching the ground. They roamed
about until they came to the
chrysanthemum bed where she had
been working. ‘What's them plants,
ma'am?’ The irritation and resistance
melted from Elisa's face.”
(50-51)
The Pot Mender’s Romantic
Language

“‘Kind of a long-stemmed flower?
Looks like a quick puff of colored
smoke?’ he asked.
‘That's it. What a nice way to
describe them.’”
(53-54)
Henry’s Dull Sentiment
“‘Why--why, Elisa. You look so nice!’
‘Nice? You think I look nice? What do
you mean by
'nice'?“
Henry blundered on. . . .
bewildered. . .
He looked
Henry’s Dull Sentiment
‘You look strong enough to break a calf
over your knee,
happy enough to eat it like a
watermelon.’”
(99-103)
Henry vs. Pot Mender in their
artistic imagination
白雪紛紛何所似?
撒鹽空中差可擬 (Henry)
未若柳絮因風起 (Pot Mender)
Important Symbols
The wire fence:
---protection; restraint (a cage?)
 Chrysanthemums
 The fog
 The season: winter

The chrysanthemums as a
symbol

Why chrysanthemums? Why not
roses, Jasmine, tulips, etc.?
The chrysanthemums as a
symbol

The combination of feminine grace
and masculine strength
Fog as a symbol:
isolation & lonliness
“The high gray-flannel fog of winter
closed off the Salinas Valley from the
sky and from all the rest of the world.
On every side it sat like a lid on the
mountains and made of the great
valley a closed pot. . . . It was a time
of quiet and of waiting.”
(1-2)
Winter as a symbol: dreariness
“It was a time of quiet and of
waiting. . . A light wind blew up from
the southwest so that the farmers
were mildly hopeful of a good rain
before long; but fog and rain do not
go together.”
(1-2)
The failed expectation of solace (慰藉) :
disillusion
“She turned up her coat collar so he
could not see that she was crying
weakly--like an old woman.”
(122)
(花自飄零水自流)
The closed-up energy inside Elisa:
protection / repression

“Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her
gardening costume, a man‘s black hat pulled
low down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes (不合
腳的鞋), a figured print dress almost completely
covered by a big corduroy(燈芯絨) apron with four
big pockets to hold the snips, . . . she worked
with. She wore heavy leather gloves to protect
her hands while she worked.” (5)
The closed-up energy inside Elisa 2
“Her face was eager and mature and
handsome; even her work with the
scissors was over-eager, overpowerful. The chrysanthemum stems
seemed too small and easy for her
energy.
(6)
The closed-up energy inside Elisa 2
“Behind her stood the neat white farm
house with red geraniums closebanked around it as high as the
windows. It was a hard-swept
looking little house, with hardpolished windows, and a clean mudmat on the front steps.” (7)
The closed-up energy inside Elisa 3
“‘You might be surprised to have a
rival some time. I can sharpen
scissors, too. And I can beat the dents
out of little pots. I could show you
what a woman might do.’” (88)
Elisa’s romantic dream: unrealistic
“‘I've never lived as you do, but I
know what you mean. When the
night is dark--why, the stars are
sharp-pointed, and there's quiet. Why,
you rise up and up! Every pointed
star gets driven into your body. It's
like that. Hot and sharp and--lovely.’”
(74)
Elisa’s romantic dream: unrealistic
“Her lips moved silently, forming the
words ‘Good-bye--good-bye.’ Then
she whispered, ‘That's a bright
direction. There's a glowing there.’
The sound of her whisper startled her.
She shook herself free and looked
about to see whether anyone had
been listening. (92)
Thank You