Elisa "cries like an old woman" because she is absolutely crushed because she realizes that she has been duped by the tinker and that he was not interested in her chrysanthemums at all. He had only pretended to be interested in Elisa talking about them in order to get some business from her (some pots to mend). What had been an awakening of emotions for Elisa was now a huge disappointment. Elisa realizes that she simply cannot be anyone different from who she is on her little farm with her husband. She is "trapped" there and will never be able to get her husband to see the aesthetic beauty of her flowers that she loves so much.
