How is "The Chrysanthemums" an example of Naturalism?

As defined by
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"Naturalism in literature was a literary movement
that suggested the involvement of environment, heredity and social conditions in shaping
the human character."

In the
short story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck, Elisa Allen is a woman who is strong
and energetic. She is closely tied to the earth as a wonderful gardener who is able to
work magic while creating beautiful flowers, and she is proud of her gift. (This shows a
positive link to her environment.)

Eliza is married to a
man who is successful and who provides for her and tries to do things he thinks will
make her happy, but they are not connected emotionally. Here she is stifled by her
environment.

While she works in the garden one day, a
peddler comes by in his wagon to sell his services in repairing pots, tools, etc. Eliza
is not interested until he begins to fuss over her chrysanthemums. He tells a story that
someone he knows would love some of her plants, and so Eliza, engaged by this wanderer
whose life she admires, offers young plants to take with him, and she has him do some
work for her. At first it seems as if she is making a positive connection to society in
this way.

Eliza takes pride in what she is able to create
out of the dirt, and feels empowered for the way the plants respond to her. As the day
wears on, she begins to develop a clearer sense of who she is—and her husband
compliments her gift with growing things. Like a flower tended with care, she begins to
blossom, and is further connected to her environment and the society of her husband's
company.

As they travel into town, Eliza notices that the
peddler has tossed the flowers onto the side of the road, though he keeps her pot, and
she is devastated.

In Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums,"
there are several things that are working to shape the person of Eliza. The elements of
naturalism that seem to apply to her character are her environment
and social conditions.

She lives on
her husband's farm and though they are seemingly suited for each other, they don't have
a meaningful personal tie: they go through the motions of marriage. In this way, Eliza
does not receive positive reinforcement as a valuable person in her own right, in the
environment of the home. She finds she has pride in her work with
growing things in the ground. They respond specifically to her attentions, and she is
fulfilled by her abilities to garden with such success, a positive attachment to
nature.

When the tinker comes, representing society, he
wants her to pay him for work, and so he manipulates her by
appealing to her love of her plants. She feels alive and gratified by his praise, and
can look at herself in the mirror that evening with a sense of personal accomplishment.
The tinker feeds her need to make a valuable attachment to society. However, this is
suddenly ripped away from her when she sees that the peddler has thrown the young
flowers away like garbage.

Eliza realizes that the
wandering life of freedom open to a man is something she longs for, but will never have
as a woman. In truth, her life is controlled by the society of men, and what
appreciation do they have for her value as a person? At the end, she tries to hide her
tears from her husband.

Naturalism is seen as Eliza tries
to find attachments with the environment and the society of which she is a part. Nature
seems to offer the only semblance of acceptance for her, and provides her with a sense
of success not with people, but with plants.