In effect, he is throwing her away carelessly, just as he threw the flowers away on the side of the road. Therefore, they represent Elisa herself too, and the wants and dreams that have already died in her own life. She is not a happy person, she has many desires and dreams that are unfulfilled, and her husband really does not recognize that. The chrysanthemums are also a symbol of her longing for freedom and what might happen if she actually broke away. She gives the chrysanthemums their freedom when she shares them with the tinsmith. Steinbeck writes, "Her lips moved silently, forming the words 'Good-bye -- good-bye'" (Steinbeck), and this shows how much she cares about her flowers and the life they symbolize. The tinsmith just throws them away, and so he is saying that what she shared is not important. It was extremely important to her, and she shared a bit of herself with this stranger. He simply took this part of her and destroyed it. When she sees them, it is as if all her strength and dreams have died. Steinbeck writes, "She tried not to look as they passed...

She whispered to herself sadly, 'He might have thrown them off the road. That wouldn't have been much trouble, not very much'" (Steinbeck). In this, they represent the hopelessness of her life as she sees it. She might end up broken and dying along the side of the road, too, she knows this, and it makes her sad.
In conclusion, the flowers in this story are really symbols of many things, which make the story complex and more thought provoking. They symbolize the seasons of life and how people take each other for granted, and they symbolize Eliza's life and the hopelessness she feels about her life and where it is going. She knows that she and everyone else will die, just like the flowers by the side of the road. At first glance, this seems like a simple story, but the symbolism of the flowers makes it more complex and more intriguing.