Significantly, author John Steinbeck introduces his
setting of the Salinas Valley as a "closed pot." This description may well fit Elsa, as
well. For, her passionate nature has been repressed, although she longs for it to be
released. Like her flowers, Elsa longs to be opened to all that life offers, but her
husband is "bewildered" and "blunders" when given the opportunity to experience Elsa's
passion. For the most part, the rancher, intimidated by intimacy, uses formal tones to
talk with his wife lest her passionate nature be
released.
That Elsa has a nature whose emotion is ready to
overflow from its "closed pot," is evident in her encounter with the tinker. When he
seems to possess an artistic nature as he inquires about her chrysathemums, Elsa
overeagerly reacts. Her impassioned explanation of the flowers, her over-eager energy
as she cuts the old stalks, her "terrier fingers" indicate a nature ready to be
exerted. Believing that the tinker possesses one similar to hers, Elsa releases her
inner self:
Her eyes shone....Her mouth opened...Her breast
welled passionately...her hesitant finger almost touched the cloth [of his
trousers].
After she finishes
potting the flowers, Elsa--her name suggests that she has
sought someone else--resumes her usual behavior:"She stood
up then, very straight, and her face was ashamed." Then, she resorts to the
conversations that she has with her husband: "I could show you what a woman might do."
But, as the tinker leaves, Elsa thinks to herself that with her encounter with this man,
"That's a bright direction. there's a glowing there," and the sound of her own
whispering voice startles her; embarrassed, she looks around to see if anyone has
listened.
That night as she prepares to go out to a
celebratory dinner with her husband, Elsa hopes the evening can be romantic, that some
of her passion can be satisfied. However, her husband blunders when he compliments her
appearance, explaining it as "strong"--perhaps, a complimentary word for his cattle, but
not his wife! In an awkward moment after Elsa agrees that she never knew how strong she
is, Henry goes for the car. As they drive to town, Elsa spots the tossed
chrysanthemums:
In a moment it was over. The thing was done.
She did not look back.
Elsa's
hope that there could be more to her life than that of the strong partner at the ranch
is dashed along with the chrysanthemums. Finally, and with strength of
mind, she realizes that the extent of the romantic in her life will be
having wine with the dinner:
She turned up her coat collar so he could not see
that she was crying weakly--like an old
woman.
The "closed pot" of
passion--her "weakness" of an artistic personality bounded by the fences of a ranch--is
again sealed, for Elsa.
No comments:
Post a Comment