The Chrysanthemums

I know that many readers would ask what does the title mean when they first look at the word. By the context throughout the story, this sentence gives you some sort of clue as to what the word chrysanthemum means: "The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." (34) Chrysanthemums, or mums for short is actually a flower. For the first part of this story the author, John Steinbeck describes in great detail the setting, the Salinas California. The characters are Elisa, her husband Henry and a caravan(stranger to Elisa). Elisa, an underappreciated women that has a talent for using tools such as scissors and growing things especially flowers. She also had what was called 'planters' hands that knew how to grow things well. She just knew that her usage of tools were great and wasn't necessary to be fixed; she refused the stranger's assistance. I guess the guy thought since she was a woman, she knows less than what he knows. This leads to the main point of the story. How the wife gets judged of what she can and cannot do. They also are underestimated for what they really can do. Years and years ago, women usually stayed home and did house chores while the men would work. At this point, the husband thought that's what his wife was good for.