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“Chrysanthemums” When Elisa sees the chrysanthemum sprouts on the road, she
feels betrayed, a victim of her own romantic reverie. She has invited a stranger
into her world and has seen into his world what she imagines as a brighter,
freer existence than her own. This interlude in her life has given her an
insight into her own strength, but not without leaving her with a sense of
guilt. When the man enters her garden, she literally lets down her beautiful
hair. She reveals her innermost feelings to him, her feeling about her “planting
hands” that seem to have a life of their own. She transposes her own deep,
emotional feelings to him, when she imagines what it must be like to sleep out
under the stars.
She feels that he understands her, that she has meet a kindred
spirit. In her enchantment, she reaches out to touch his leg and, ashamed, she
retracts her hand. As he drives away in the distance, she whispers, “That’s a
bright direction. There’s a glowing there”. After he leaves, feeling guilty for
her thoughts, she scrubs herself until she is “scratched and red”. Although true
to her husband, she has strayed in thought. Elisa holds herself to a high moral
standard as a good wife and feels guilty for her escapist thoughts. She is
further humiliated when she finds that her feelings were all based on a
pretense. The chrysanthemums in the road show that the relationship is based on
fraud. Her enhanced belief in herself is shattered and she becomes crushed and
weak.
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