In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums,” Elisa is described as having a handsome face. She is still lively and strong. This makes her relationship with her husband to be tight. He proposes to take her out to the movies. They seem to be very friendly with each other. Because of her body, her husband jokes to her a lot about going to the fight. She dresses as a man because she has a manly body and the best way to cover this look is to wear shapeless clothes. She is good at things a compliment that she receives from a husband. She attributes her strength to her mother who taught her.
Elisa tries to accomplish a good conversation with the man since she has prejudged him to be intelligent and strong. She seems to be deprived of sexual life and hopes that the repairman is noticed her through her flirting and by giving him flowers. She feels devastated when the man throws the flowers down by the roadside.
In the last conversation she has with the husband, she seems to be more like a woman as she ends up crying and hiding her weakness. She asks about wine at dinner because she wants to have a romantic dinner with her husband. She has all of a sudden changed because she feels that her husband was not treating her like a woman.