This is a story about a woman named Elisa
who lives on a farm with her husband.
Her husband has just sold cattle to some businessmen
and he wants to take her out to celebrate
after he delivers the cattle.
Elisa tends a small garden near the house
and grows amazing chrysanthemums.
She claims to have a planter's hand, a feel
for when flowers need to be trimmed and budded.
A traveler drives up the road and identifies
himself as a repairman of sorts.
He can sharpen knives and fix dented pots.
He asks Elisa if she needs anything to be
fixed, but she says no.
He talks about his travels and lifestyle,
which Elisa secretly wishes she had.
He then sees that she has a garden and asks
about it.
Elisa gets excited that the man is interested
in her flowers and explains that she has a
planter's hand.
She gives him some of her chrysanthemum sprouts
to grow.
Eventually the man leaves and her husband
returns.
She gets dressed up and the husband notices
how pretty she looks.
She takes offense, claiming that she has always
been strong.
As they head down the road, she sees the chrysanthemum
sprouts that she had given to the traveler
on the side of the road.
Then she cries.
Gender roles are an important issue in this
story.
The initial description of Elisa is of a woman
covered by the farming clothes of a man.
Her overalls and hat are men's clothing, which
de-feminizes her as a woman, hiding the features
that make her a woman.
At the same time, she is not quite a man either,
as she can only look on as her husband makes
the cattle sale with the other businessmen.
The traveler is also an interesting character.
He is given no name.
All we know is that he travels by wagon from
Seattle to San Diego and fixes things along
the way.
He gave Elisa the attention that she so craved.
However, seeing that he just threw away the
chrysanthemum sprouts on the side of the road,
it shows how phony his intentions were.
In fact, his profession, as a fixer and sharpener
of tools, is reflective of his character.
The tools that he sharpens will eventually
all become dull again, as will the fixed pots
getting more dents as time passes.
And it seems that for a moment he helped to
fix whatever was missing in Elisa's life,
but like his sharpening and fixing of appliances,
those fixes were only temporary or fake.
