The short story, The Chrysanthemums, by John Steinbeck, is a fascinating tale involving the life of a beautiful, but misunderstood woman, as she struggles with the prolonged pain of isolation. After years of imprisonment on a farm, Elisa finds it difficult to feel like a free woman. As a result, Elisa becomes cautious and closed even towards her husband. Despite her masculine personality, Elisa lowers her protected facade when an opportunity to escape presents itself. Trapped in the confines of her farm, Elisa creates a kind of "intimate relationship" with her beloved chrysanthemums as a way to maintain her sanity (French 64). Through the astute use of symbolism and the forces of human nature combined with the feminine limitations of the time, Steinbeck reinforces the idea that happiness cannot be between the bars of a cage. Steinbeck first enriches the feeling of despondency with the intelligent use of symbolism. . The story opens with a detailed description of the Salinas Valley. Here Steinbeck links the valley to a “closed vessel,” which suggests Elisa's inability to escape. Furthermore, Steinbeck describes that even though there is sunlight nearby, the Salinas Valley sees none. Since sunlight is often associated with happiness, the implication is that while others are happy, Elisa is not. To encourage the use of symbolic reference, Steinbeck relates Elisa to the hopeful farmers of the area. Farmers believe rain is imminent due to the southwest wind sweeping the valley. Unfortunately the cumbersome fog disavows any possibility of this happening. Like the false hope that torments the peasants, Elisa is oppressed by the illusion that happiness can still come for her. Furthermore, Elisa's garden is surrounded by a wire fence to pr...... means of paper ...... to demonstrate how contentment and confinement do not coincide with each other. Works Cited French, Warren. John Steinbeck's Fiction Revisited. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. Print.Beach, Joseph Warren. American fiction, 1920-1940. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941. Print "John Steinbeck (1902-1968)." Criticism of short stories. Ed. Giuseppe Palmisano. vol. 77. Detroit:Thomson Gale, 2005. 228-297. Literary criticism online. Storm. Glendale Community College.April 15, 2012"John Steinbeck's Chrysanthemums." Criticism of short stories. Ed. Anja Barnard and Anna Sheets-Nesbitt. vol. 37. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 320-363. Literary criticism online. Storm. Glendale Community College. April 16 2012