In the beginning of the story Elisa is viewed as a tomboy. She does not have any feminine qualities. Elisa is described as a thirty-five year old woman. She has a lean and strong face with eyes as clear as water. Her figure looks blocked and heavy in her gardening costume. She wore a man’s black hat which she pulled down low over her eyes. She also wore clod-hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy ap

After the peddler leaves Elisa gets ready to go to town with Henry. She puts on her newest undergarments and the dress that is a symbol of her prettiness. She takes the time to carefully fix her hair, pencil her eyebrows, and put lipstick on. She does all of this to impress Henry. Henry has never been a man known for his compliments but the compliments received from the stranger rekindles Elisa’s hope in Henry. When Henry sees Elisa he tells her “you look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon.” While on their way to town Elisa sees that the peddler dumped her precious chrysanthemums out on the road. This destroys the small spark of hope she had left for Henry. At the end of the story Elisa looks like an old woman crying weakly.

When the peddler first arrives at Henry and Eliza’s farm Eliza is very standoffish. She does not want to talk to the peddler and she does not want to find him any work. When the peddler compliments Eliza’s flowers she instantly becomes friendly. When the peddler asks Eliza if he can have some of her flowers she becomes even friendlier and tells him all the information she can about her chrysanthemums.

Eliza’s speech reveals a lot about her character. In the beginning of the story when Henry and

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