Comparative analysis of female characters in Faulkner and Steinbeck

¶ … human condition when one compares characters in the stories of different writers. Each writer's story indicates a perception of the human condition that is acted out by the story's characters. One interesting study may be to compare the character of Miss Emily Grierson from "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner with the character of Elisa Allen in "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck. Through the author's description of the characters, the world around them, and their reactions, the reader can learn a lot about the individuals, and even more so when they are compared to one another. Miss Emily Grierson and Elisa Allen's very different lifestyles create in each of them a similar perception about the world they live in, but they each respond to their perception of life in very different ways.

It would first be prudent to take a look at the differing lifestyles of the two protagonists, which shape the characters' responses and attitudes. In "The Chrysanthemums," Elisa Allen is a hard-working house wife with a husband who loves her, living in a farm house in the middle of the country. Her husband, Henry, when they have the resources, offers to take her out for dinner, or a movie, or whatever she might like. Elisa keeps her house impeccably clean and tidy, with "hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps" (Steinbeck). Elisa also has a passion for planting and tending to her Chrysanthemums. She is a phenomenal worker of them, assisting them to grow larger than anyone else's in the area. She plants them, waters them, trims them, and shapes them. She takes pride in the fact that she can grow the blooms "ten inches across" simply by using her "planters' hands" (Steinbeck). She likes the outdoors and is at least civil if not friendly in conversation with strangers, as in the way she jokes with the stranger in the wagon about his dogs and horses "getting started" (Steinbeck). She is a strong woman, who can keep the house tidy, do gardening work, sharpen her scissors and un-dent her cooking pots and pans.

While Elisa Allen's life seems to be full and busy, the life of Miss Emily Grierson from "A Rose for Emily" is quite a bit blander. The story opens at the time of her death, which may very well have been the most eventful thing that ever happened to Miss Emily. Up until that point she seemed to live a quiet, if not unfortunate, life. The house in which she lived, unlike Elisa's, seemed dirty and in disrepair, "with its stubborn and coquettish decay," and its smell "of dust and disuse" (Faulkner). She was very infrequently seen outdoors, and the longer her life went on, the less and less she came out. Her father's death was one event that succeeded in trapping her further indoors, and "after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all" (Faulkner). While Elisa Allen had a husband who loved her dearly, Miss Emily had no real love in her life, as her "sweetheart," Homer Barron, "had remarked . . . that he was not a marrying man" (Faulkner). And while Elisa has a passion for chrysanthemums, Miss Emily had no activities to keep her busy, except that she seemed to stare out of the window every now and then, and for a very brief period she distracted herself with giving china painting lessons (Faulkner).

Despite the fact that these two unique characters lead very different lives, they both have similar perceptions of their lives. Elisa Allen's life, despite seeming to be full and vibrant, also seems to be lacking something. You never really see her being genuinely happy throughout the story, even when her husband tells her that he sold the livestock, or when he suggests they have a night out (Steinbeck). She seems content, but that is all. The author's description of her words only, without any kind of physical reaction to the thought of a night out, combined with the lack of luster in her words, shows how unaffected she is by what should be an exciting event. Her only response to the invitation is "Good . . . Oh, yes. That will be good" (Steinbeck). This response reveals a melancholy spirit in her, to the point where she is apparently numb to life's unexpected surprises. Miss Emily Grierson also gives evidence that she considers her life to be frustrating and unacceptable. Each negative or disappointing event in Miss Emily's life only serves to cloister her further into the dark depths of her dusty home, where she becomes inactive, indifferent, and unsociable. After her father dies, she goes out very little; when her sweetheart disappears, she goes out hardly at all, and even when "few of the ladies had the temerity to call," they "were not received" (Faulkner). Miss Emily's reaction to withdraw from life shows her disappointment and frustration with how her life was unraveling.

Elisa Allen and Miss Emily's similar negative perceptions of their lives sparked very different responses. Elisa strives for more in her frustrating life. This is evident when Henry suggests that she should work on the orchard to bring it more life. Her response is bright and eager, her eyes "sharpen" and she begins to rattle off the reasons she believes she could single-handedly improve the orchard (Steinbeck). Elisa's yearning for more responsibility and more opportunities to prove herself are evident in the way she jumps at the chance to help her husband with more work on the farm, and through her own skills, show how valuable she can be. When the stranger offers his/her interest in the Chrysanthemums, spinning a tale about bringing some to a woman down the road, Elisa becomes alert, eager, and excited. Elisa's passion about the topic and eagerness to prove her worth are evident in the way her "eyes shone," the way she runs to fetch a pot to put the chrysanthemums in, and the wealth of knowledge she imparts to the stranger about how to care for the chrysanthemums (Steinbeck). Unfortunately, at the end of the story, Elisa discovers her chrysanthemums discarded in the road, and she cries (Faulkner). Just when Elisa believed that she had finally done something to prove her strength and her worth, she discovered that the stranger was only using her passion for the chrysanthemums as a ploy to gain her trust and sympathy so that he could sell his/her service.