"TheChrysanthemums"isashortstorybyAmericanauthorJohnSteinbeck,firstpublishedin1937aspartofhiscollection*TheLongValley*.SetintheSalinasValleyofCalifornia,thestoryfollowsElisaAllen,astrongbutemotionallyunfulfilledwomanwhotendsherprizedchrysanthemumswithgreatcare.Throughherinteractionswithatravelingtinker,thenarrativeexploresthemesofgenderroles,isolation,andunfulfilleddesires.Steinbeck'svividproseandsymbolicuseofthechrysanthemumshighlightElisa'sinnerstrugglesandthelimitationsplacedonwomeninamale-dominatedsociety.Thestoryiscelebratedforitsrichcharacterization,subtletension,andpoignantexplorationofhumanlonging.
