The Chyrsanthymums Essay, Research Paper

Laura and Elisa

In literature, authors often paint their characters with very distinct and recognizable personalities. A skillful author can create characters with predictable traits that help the reader understand them and what makes them tick. This semester we have come across two women in literature who exhibit distinct yet similar personality traits. In The Garden-Party , Laura is a confused young woman wrestling with the notions of how society views her and who she thinks she should be. In The Chrysanthemums , Elisa is a frustrated housewife desperate to break the shackles of her current lifestyle. Both of these women struggle with their identity and in many ways mirror each others yearning for more meaning in their lives.

Throughout The Garden-Party , Laura seems uncomfortable with her apparent affluence and the status it gives her. On the one hand, she seems thrilled and excited about the upcoming party they are preparing to host. It is very clear that she enjoys the good life. On the other hand, it is readily apparent that Laura has guilty feelings about her upper class status. She is very concerned with how the wor

Laura and Elisa

In literature, authors often paint their characters with very distinct and recognizable personalities. A skillful author can create characters with predictable traits that help the reader understand them and what makes them tick. This semester we have come across two women in literature who exhibit distinct yet similar personality traits. In The Garden-Party , Laura is a confused young woman wrestling with the notions of how society views her and who she thinks she should be. In The Chrysanthemums , Elisa is a frustrated housewife desperate to break the shackles of her current lifestyle. Both of these women struggle with their identity and in many ways mirror each others yearning for more meaning in their lives.

Throughout The Garden-Party , Laura seems uncomfortable with her apparent affluence and the status it gives her. On the one hand, she seems thrilled and excited about the upcoming party they are preparing to host. It is very clear that she enjoys the good life. On the other hand, it is readily apparent that Laura has guilty feelings about her upper class status. She is very concerned with how the workers perceive her and goes out of her way to gain their acceptance. Furthermore, she becomes quite affected when hearing about the tragic death down the hill. Although her sympathetic reaction may seem like a normal human emotion, her mother and the other family members consider her different from them all . Similarly, Elisa goes through a series of confused emotions throughout The Chrysanthemums . When we first meet Elisa, she seems to be a content housewife happily tending to her flowerbed. Even at the end of the story, she is setting out her husband s clothes and making herself pretty for their dinner date. Nevertheless, Elisa is a very frustrated woman. She dreams of living a life more spontaneous and adventurous then the predictable and boring life she now has. When a travelling peddler stops by, she views his uncomplicated life as her ultimate fantasy.

While both of these women exhibit similarities in their discontentment and confusion, the final result of their conflicts are quite different. With Laura, some measure of resolution is found after she visits the widow and sees the husband s corpse. This experience has a profound effect on her and helps her realize how wonderful and precious life is. Elisa, on the other hand, is not as fortunate. Henry, her husband, does not really understand who

kers perceive her and goes out of her way to gain their acceptance. Furthermore, she becomes quite affected when hearing about the tragic death down the hill. Although her sympathetic reaction may seem like a normal human emotion, her mother and the other family members consider her different from them all . Similarly, Elisa goes through a series of confused emotions throughout The Chrysanthemums . When we first meet Elisa, she seems to be a content housewife happily tending to her flowerbed. Even at the end of the story, she is setting out her husband s clothes and making herself pretty for their dinner date. Nevertheless, Elisa is a very frustrated woman. She dreams of living a life more spontaneous and adventurous then the predictable and boring life she now has. When a travelling peddler stops by, she views his uncomplicated life as her ultimate fantasy.

While both of these women exhibit similarities in their discontentment and confusion, the final result of their conflicts are quite different. With Laura, some measure of resolution is found after she visits the widow and sees the husband s corpse. This experience has a profound effect on her and helps her realize how wonderful and precious life is. Elisa, on the other hand, is not as fortunate. Henry, her husband, does not really understand who