A character that plays a major role in this story without being present through most of it is Henry Allen. Husband to Elisa, Henry is easily described as a well-intentioned and decent man. However, he fails to see that in providing everything for his wife, and by being the decision maker in the relationship, he has not made her content. It is apparent in this piece that Elisa needs more than a neat house and an excellent garden.
The tinker who comes to the house offers Elisa a new and interesting experience. At first she is reluctant to even speak to the tinker for very long, but we quickly see the man use crafty tricks to ease her mood. The tinker’s tactics can be seen in the line, “That’s a bad dog in a fight when he gets started.” This seemingly innocent rhetoric allows for the tinker to develop a friendly conversation; he is able to start a personal joke between Elisa and himself, in turn easing her mood. Described as a large, bearded, and graying man who has been around, and has experienced many people, the tinker intrigues Elisa. He is a spontaneous man who seeks adventure, lacking restrictions of time and a home. In comparing the two men in this story it is simple to see that the tinker is much more romantic and exciting than Henry.
In the conversation with the tinker, Elisa reveals something, which he uses to take advantage of her. As they begin to discuss Elisa’s chrysanthemums, the tinker deliberately mentions how beautiful they are to make her feel appreciated. “[The lady] said to [the tinker], ‘If you ever run across some nice chrysanthemums I wish you’d try to get me a few seeds’ (Kennedy 249-250). The tinker makes this story about another woman to lead on Elisa. Because of the common link he has created, Elisa becomes interested in him, and though she soon realizes, and is ashamed of her actions, the tinker is still able to influence her to find him work. After paying the tinker for fixing a few saucepans, Elisa sends him off with the chrysanthemums.
As Henry and Elisa ride off to dinner, she is able to distinguish a dark spot in the road up ahead: the chrysanthemums. It is now obvious to her that the tinker had lied, and she had been fooled. It is at this point that the theme becomes palpable, and Elisa realizes her place in society. She knows now that she can never become anything more than a housewife. The theme of male dominance crushing the dreams of a woman, and making her unhappy with her life, becomes very obvious.
A similar theme can be found in a short story entitled “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In this story the husband believes his wife is diseased, and in order to cure her, he forces her to remain secluded from the world. This “treatment” does not help, but instead drives her insane. This is merely one more example of male domination harming women in literature.
Literature is not the only place where male domination has caused women pain. It is also important to note that in many cases, such as the two aforementioned literary works, the men causing the problems were not aware of it. Many obstacles have been overcome in the past seven decades, one in particular being the fight for women’s rights. Stories such as these point out the subject of male dominance, and reveal the damage it can cause. The damage caused, however, is not only inflicted upon the women in the stories, but upon the world. By limiting the influence of women, human kind has possibly slowed the development of many things: medicine, technology, and education being among the possibilities. The development towards equal rights in the last few decades have been staggering, and such works as “The Chrysanthemums” point out the importance through their themes.
Another piece of literature where a similar theme can be found is “Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare. One major difference in this piece is that the primary theme is not the problem of male dominance: however, it is present within the story. The character, which is directly affected, is Ophelia: daughter to Polonius. There are many factors that contribute to the downfall of Ophelia. Through the early portions of the play, it becomes clear that she has strong feelings for Hamlet; however, her father forbids her from seeing him. This act begins to bring out the theme of male dominance. This theme continues to develop as Hamlet begins to feel differently towards Ophelia. As the plot develops, Polonius soon tells Ophelia that she must seek out Hamlet. Much to her dismay, Hamlet rejects her, and this begins a downward spiral for Ophelia. She begins acting in a depressed fashion, and everyone begins to think she has gone mad. Unfortunately, all the negative light placed upon Ophelia leads to her death. It is not certain whether she was murdered or whether she in fact committed suicide, but she came to a tragic end by drowning.
The events in “Hamlet” and “The Chrysanthemums,” though different in appearance show a very similar topic. The problem of male dominance is shown in both situations to devastate the emotions of the women. In showing respect and obedience for the male characters, the females are in fact hurting themselves. This theme of male dominance destroying the psyche of women has been, and will continue to be a major theme in literature.
