Clothing is used as a way of exemplifying one’s personality. Whether it is showing a particular band, style, or even a college name, it becomes a visual aid of someone’s character. Elisa’s clothing in “The Chrysanthemums” is a visual representation of her internal conflict between masculine and feminine qualities and how Elisa tries to understand how she wants to be treated. 

Elisa shows a want of masculinity from the beginning by her outer appearance, “Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figure printed dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron…” (Steinbeck 1). A woman proudly owns her body and is comfortable in it, but in Elisa’s case, she hides every ounce of her body that screams female. Her face is completely covered by a hat, which serves as a mask, and her dress is well hidden. The apron and hat together shapes her figure into a man.

Further in the story, she encounters a man that is able to bring the realization to Elisa’s eyes as to why she is feeling a sense of masculinity and how she wishes to be treated. The man puts the idea of strength and independence in her mind. Even though the man sheds light on independence, once the man leaves and she is on her own, she remembers the date her husband planned for the night. This date snaps her back into a state of feminine, and she tosses aside the masculinity:

In the bathroom she tore off her spoiled clothes and flung them into the corner. And then she scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red. When she had dried herself she stood in front of the mirror and locked at her body. She tightened her stomach and threw out her chest (Steinbeck 6).

The above example is a turning point for Elisa. She physically sheds her manly skin and way of thinking, at least for now, leaving the natural woman state. Elisa straightens up her body’s appearance just like women do to impress the opposite sex. She throws the masculine thoughts to the back of her mind, the absolute very back corner, but the thoughts are not forgotten.

Following Elisa’s transformative bath, she dresses herself, “After a while she began to dress slowly. She put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was a symbol of her prettiness” (Steinbeck 6). This example from the text displays her feminine side and how Elisa accepts and enjoys the female qualities, such as being taken out for dinner and wine into town. Elisa falls back in line behind her husband where she belongs, or feels this is where she has to be. 

Although her outer appearance exhibits the female side with dates, dresses, and wine, Elisa still has a masculine want for strength and independence. She has the desire to be strong like a man, but this desire is not a burning flame within her. For instance, “Henry stopped short and looked at her. ‘Why—why, Elisa. You look so nice!’ ‘Nice? You think I look nice? What do you mean by nice?’” (Steinbeck 7). Here, Elisa is not satisfied by the word nice, which is a complementing adjective women would be flattered by, but she wants something more than nice. Elisa wants something with meaning of her inner quality, “Henry blundered on. ‘I don’t know. I mean you look different, strong and happy.’ ‘I am strong? Yes, strong. What do you mean ‘strong’?” (Steinbeck 7). Furthermore, in this conversation Elisa searches for Henry to say the right thing without having to tell him, even though she does not know specifically what she would like him to say about her. Her husband finally finds the words to please her, but Elisa questions what he means by the word strong. She does not quite understand what it means to her to be strong. 

Many ideas and objects can portray another idea or person, and can show feeling or insight. Elisa has inner conflict in understanding who she is and how she wants to be. The descriptive clothing in the story relating to Elisa allows the audience to understand her struggle, feel her misery in finding her place, and how she is to be treated through her clothing and behavior. 