THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS.
This story is about a lonely young woman who is very passionate about growing and maintaining her chrysanthemums. This woman, Elisa, and her husband Henry live on a foothill ranch secluded from the outside world. They make their living by raising and selling crop and cattle. Henry has just sold some cattle and has offered to take his wife out into town to celebrate. He goes off to gather the livestock and prepare the wagon for the outing that evening. While Henry is away, a salesman comes to call on Elisa. He realizes that she has a love for her flowers and shows great interest in them to gain her trust. He invents a story about a woman that lives down the road that would love to have some chrysanthemums and asks Elisa if he could take her some seeds. Elisa becomes very excited about the interest he has shown and eagerly places her seedlings in a pot for the salesman to take. The salesman leaves and Elisa eagerly returns to the house to get ready for her outing with Henry. While Henry and Elisa are making their way into town, she discovers the flower seedlings dumped out on the side of the road. Elisa is devastated by the way the salesman has lied to her and used her the way he did. She hides her feelings from her husband, trying to pretend to be interested in their evening plans while crying quietly.
I feel sorry for Elisa because she feels so lonely and rejected. She has no emotionally intimate relationship with her husband and she is isolated from others. They live in a remote area and Elisa does not know any neighbors. She and her husband do not have any children and there is no mention in the story about any family. I believe that her husband does really love her, but he doesn't show her as much attention as she would like and this makes her very lonely. I believe that she yearns for a loving relationship and to feel as if someone cares for her.