Women's Role in Steinbeck's N

A detailed Summary of Women's Role in Steinbeck's N

John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in the Salinas Valley in California. This is also the setting for most of his early works in the 1930s. It is two of these works "The Chrysanthemums" and "The White Quail" that I will focus on when explaining the role of women in Steinbeck's novels during this period. The women in "The Chrysanthemums" and "The White Quail" are used to show the reader the inner strength, frustration and antagonism of women in the 1930s who will never realize their full potential.

Elisa Allen in "The Chrysanthemums" and Mary Teller in "The White Quail" use Mother Nature for their inner strength. Elisa demonstrates this in a conversation with her husband about her chrysanthemums. " 'You've got a gift with things,' Henry observed. 'Some of those yellow chrysanthemums you had this year were ten inches across. 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' " ( Steinbeck 5). In this instance you get the feeling that Alisa feels extremely confident in her abilities to work with all things that are planted and that there is nothing she can't grow if only she put

It seems to me that John Steinbeck is trying to show us that women the 1930's are starting to realize that there is more to life than the mere mundane routine of everyday life. They are trying to use their relationship with Mother Nature to realize their dreams of being more than they really are. However, the world outside is unwilling to allow this to happen and this leads to frustration and antagonistic behavior in the women. In the end both women suffer because of their dreams and are harshly reminded of their place in society.

The very thing that each women cherishes is the very same thing that is their undoing. The bond Alisa Allen and Mary Teller have with Mother Nature is unique to that woman and is the source for each woman's ultimate undoing. In Elisa's case she takes such great pride in her ability to grow chrysanthemums that she becomes blind to the tinker's ruse. She craves to be recognized as an equal and thinks that the tinker actually sees her as that since he has taken an interest in her chrysanthemums. She believes this until she sees the flowers she gave him lying in the road and realizes that not only the tinker, but also the rest of the world will never see her as an equal. This realization is made clear in the last sentence of the story " She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly---like an old woman" (18). In Mary Teller's case it is her fanatical passion for her garden that is her undoing. The very thing she cherishes above all else is the cause for her beloved white quail being destroyed. Harry has endured years of being second fiddle to the garden to now realize he is nothing more than an outsider in his own home. In this respect Harry becomes the cat that threatens the quail. In the end Harry winds up killing the quail instead of the cat and lies to Mary about it. Mary never realizes that he has done this and it suggests to the reader of a strong underlying emotions repressed within Harry. These emotions and the lack of emotion from his wife are taking a serious toll on Harry. This is evidenced in the final two sentences in the story when he says " 'I'm lonely,' he said. 'Oh, Lord, I'm so lonely' " (37)!

The frustration that I speak of is derived from the women being in failed marriages. To further clarify this I mean marriages that lack communication, praise and love. The similarity of both women in a failed marriage is unmistakable, but this is w

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Approximate Word count = 1648
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels