A Victim of Circumstances In John Steinbeck’s, “The Chrysanthemums,” the opening paragraph is a vignette of Elisa Allen’s drab existence. Elisa was trapped in a marriage that was both physically and emotionally deprived. It seems that she lacked the initiative nor the inner strength to break the bonds that held her to such an uneventful existence, filled only by her love for her flowers. “The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the …showed first 75 words of 643 total…

…showed last 75 words of 643 total…the flowers discarded on the road. The tinker had played her for the pot. “The Chrysanthemums,” is a dramatization about a dysfunctional marriage. Elisa is the victim of a social trend that defined the woman’s place as the home. In her need to love something or someone she victimizes the Chrysanthemums. The Chrysanthemums provides the opportunity for her to be deceived by the tinker who is the victim of a sudden impulse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**