Kate Chopin Essay

Essay On Kate Chopin
In the early 19th century the men of society were dominant, they were considered the caregivers
and are responsible for the actions of their women. When a woman would get into trouble they
would be sent to their husband or father to be punished. Kate Chopin unlike many women did not
have a male figure in her life. As an author she still had to prove herself to society that she was a
good writer. Most female writers of that century wrote under a male name so they could be
published, Kate Chopin wanted to be known for her work. Mrs. Mallard searches for freedom
within her life. She feels trapped in her marriage, and her husband's death is her ticket to freedom.
Kate Chopin shows Mrs. Mallard's desire for freedom through the use of irony. The...show more
content...
Mallard should have been in tears but it did not bother her. " She was young, with a fair, calm
face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength." ( Chopin, 4 ) . Her marriage aged
her, she was no longer the young woman she once was. The news of her husband's death did not
upset or make her mad it gave her a sense of peace. Mrs. Mallard had a taste of freedom which gave
her strength.
When Mrs. Mallard finally realizes that she is free she leaves reality. " When she abandoned
herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under
her breath: "free, free, free !" ( Chopin, 5). This newly free woman abandoned her life. She is no
longer the old Mrs. Mallard. The freedom she has, has not set in with her yet. Her lips were
slightly parted because she is preparing herself to open up to the world. Mrs. Mallard has finally
escaped into the free world. women are a huge part of our society. Yet they are not given the
respect and love they deserve. Kate Chopin wanted to show how women were treated and how it
affected their mental stability. Women today are still a huge part of what makes the world great and
run smoothly. Kate Chopin used irony to display the great desire for freedom that women struggled to
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The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin Essay
"The Story of an Hour" is a stark display of female rejection of the norms of society. This work, by
Kate Chopin, begins with a woman going through the stages of grief for her husband's death. For
the wife, Louise Mallard, this was an awakening of a new life. This new life is cut short as the
information that led her to believe this news turns our false. Kate Chopin reveals that even the
desire for love is trumped by the need for freedom and independence, through her use of precise
diction and syntax, and symbolism. With respect to word choice, Chopin foreshadows the idea that
it was possible that Mrs. Mallard's husband was not dead at all. From the start she describes the
news as "possible" (79). To further show this, she chooses to use...show more content...
It is "comfortable" and "roomy" (79). These descriptors help the reader to understand the
transition she is going through. Due to the loss of her husband, she now has room to live her life,
and to do so comfortably, without the intrusion or imposition of her husband. The outside world
is described as being "aquiver with the new spring life" (79). She also describes the feeling of
freedom as "creeping out of the sky" (80). It is hard for Mrs. Mallard to accept the new feelings of
her freedom. The feeling had to creep due to the fact that her freedom was granted on the premise
of her husband's death. This feeling, however, comes out of the sky as to show the new life
promised to her, but it is still hard for her to believe that she wanted this freedom more than love.
This is further displayed by the use of the phrase "monstrous joy" (80). The juxtaposition of these
words shows very well the emotional state of Louise Mallard. The joy she is feeling is something
that others could call monstrous, but the prison she was in previously could never be called
joyful. Most important is the repetition of the word "free" (80). Muttering this under her breath is
a sign that she cannot believe what she is even saying. It is at this moment that she realizes that
she is free and can now enjoy her life as an independent person. In resisting this new emotion Mrs.
Mallard was feeling, Chopin describes her as "powerless as her two white slender hands would have
been" (80).

Kate Chopin Influences
Generally in her work, Chopin's writing is influenced heavily by the settings she chooses for her
stories and the settings she personally knew. Had her creative talent blossomed in another time and
place, Chopin would have centralized on different social constraints and various kinds of people
who desired freedom from social normalities, or a more free society. It possibly might have
concentrated more on other necessary condition of the human status and less on the obligation for
freedom. Kate Chopin has been classified as a modernist due to her style of writing and thinking.
Kate Chopin has influenced modern day writers in a different way of writing. Chopin was
recognized for her thoughts. She made clear and did not care much about how other...show more
content...
Kate Chopin's shared feelings with the individual in the context of his and her personal life and
society.Through her stories, Kate Chopin was able to write her autobiography and recorded her
surroundings. She lived during the abolitionist movements and the evolution of feminism. Even
though her ideas and depiction were not true verbatim, yet there was some nonfiction abiding in
each story. Chopin was very interested in the things going on around her and put many of her
conclusions in her works. Due to the risk Chopin dared to take, readers can recognize in today's
writings where authors highlight views on modern day issues. Kate Chopin influenced world
literature with a form of modernism. Chopin was not compressed simply to her time; the themes of
life and death, love and loss, fear and fortitude, self–deception and self–knowledge, transcend
particular settings and extend to every era of readers. Following Kate Chopin's death, her writings
went on the down low; however, they are now back and used in english classes around the United
States and the world. Kate Chopin's writing influenced her readers to look at life and take it all

Kate Chopin Essay
Kate Chopin was an author during the 1800's and she was passionate about certain topics in her
writing the two that stuck out was the theme because you feel her emotion and the setting because
she lived in the south herself she based her stories in the south.
In "Story of an hour" Kate Chopin talked about marriage in a way that is not normally discussed.
Mrs. mallard showed exhilaration for her husband's death because she finally will be free yet when
she found out that Brently was still alive the thought of having to suffer was too much for her and
she died. The disappointment for him being alive is what killed her. The talk of marriage oppression
during this time– period was not exclusive or talked about during that era.
Mrs. mallard is...show more content...
Mallard and Mrs. Baroda she does not do it in first person she reveals the stories in the narrator's
voice. The narrator knows more than they let on. Like in a story of an hour Mrs. Mallard showed
for the most part she did not love her husband (paragraph 15). the reader must look at Mrs.
Mallard's actions in words rather than just telling the reader how she is feeling to understand
how mallard is feeling. Mallard acknowledged that her husband loved her. Brently had only ever
looked at Mrs. Mallard with love (paragraph 13). Which showed he was not a bad man; he thought
that it was his right and obligation to direct his wife in everything she does. During the time
period women had certain allowed rules and in Chopin's writing she expressed herself in a way
that is not part of everyday for them. Mrs. Mallard experiences the exhilaration of freedom that her
husband's death in "Story of an Hour". when she learns that her husband is alive, she knows her
hope for freedom is gone, and the disappointment of not having freedom is what kills her. The
oppressive nature in "The Story of an Hour" may be a reflection, though not exclusive to the
eighteenth century.
"In a respectable woman" Kate Chopin makes you feel like Mrs. Baroda wants her husband's friend
to have sexual relations with

The Life of Kate Chopin
The life of Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin led a fascinating life filled with times of triumph but also times of great loss. Living in
the South during the post–Civil War era, the setting and experiences of her life would have a great
impact on the subjects of her writing. Chopin began writing as a way to express her frustration
with life. This is why her emotions about life are conveyed so strongly in her writing. One of her
short stories, "Juanita," is an excellent example of how Chopin's life affected her writing.
The story of "Juanita" is that of a young woman who, though not incredibly beautiful, had many
admirers. The people of her small town gossiped continually about which man she would marry.
Would it be the man...show more content...
Juanita, on the other hand, did think of love. When she felt love for the poor one–legged man, she
faced an important decision. As with many of Chopin's female protagonists, Juanita was strong
enough to choose her happiness over the constraints of society. "Juanita has turned her broad back
upon the whole race of masculine bipeds, and lavishes the wealth of her undivided affections upon
the one–legged man." (Chopin 88)
Fox–Genovese believes that during this consistent search for a sense of who she was, Kate Chopin
developed a certain understanding of the complexities of the human soul. "With Chopin the dark
crannies of the human soul were part of what it is to be human. It was part of her war against
platitudes, it was part of her sense that there's no true beauty without complexity (and) conflict."
(Fox–Genovese) Chopin refused to accept the stereotypes of the "Hallmark Card view of life."
(Fox–Genovese) She believed that life does not exist without friction; it is human nature to cause
these clashes.
In "Juanita," Chopin shows a wicked side of society's soul when the townspeople dismiss the
one–legged man and pay no attention to him until Juanita becomes interested in him. Society creates
conflict when it sets limitations on individuals, and then the individuals (in this case Juanita and the
one–legged man) defy these limitations. To Chopin, the examination of these intricate interactions
between people

Fantasism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
The life of Kate Chopin started in a world of women. Following the tragic death of her father, the
author lived with her mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Perhaps this upbringing
influenced her writing style. The late 1800's was a boisterous time in the United States. The
cultural scene of the country was changing quickly, and for the first time, women brought private
and personal issues into the public domain. This writer portrays the lives of women in a world
controlled by male dominance while developing their own individual personalities. Her characters
were usually socially accepted, but rebelled against the social codes of the day. The Victorian time
period that shaped Chopin's life, was the subject matter used in many of her...show more content...
Mallard finds relief in the knowledge of her newly found freedom from a marriage of oppression.
Fantasizing occupies Mrs. Mallard throughout the day as she gazes out of the window thinking
about her new life, a new life symbolized by the new buds on the trees and the singing birds. The
protagonist envisions her life without a husband's rule and the story ends with Mrs. Mallard's
sister leading her down the stairs towards the living room. Surprisingly, as the two ladies
approach the bottom of the stairs, Mr. Mallard enters the front door. The man was not on the train
that day and he was very much alive. With this shocking irony, Mrs. Mallard fell to the ground.
Adding to the irony of the story, she dies and he lives. As the doctor arrived, he relayed to the
family that Mrs. Mallard had suffered a heart attack. Selina Jamil relates Mrs. Mallard's final
death to the feelings she had repressed during her married life with her husband. Although Mrs.
Mallard loved her husband, she was ready to live her life for herself or not live at all. ( ) As she
grieved it occurred to her that she is now a free and independent woman as she whispers, "Free,
free, free" ( ). Another bit of irony used in The Story of an Hour, is the thought that Mr. Mallard
died and she cried, because she is happy. This reaction is not what one would expect in this situation.
Chopin shows the tremendous conflicts and struggles between life and death in The Story of an
Hour. Likewise, in The Awakening, Chopin uses symbolism and irony to add meaning to the

Licano 1
Maria Licano
Mrs. Hummel
Ap English 08
27 April 2012
Kate Chopin: Feminism in Her Works
"Love and passion, marriage and independence, freedom and restraint." These are the themes that are
represented and worked with throughout Kate Chopin's works. Kate Chopin, who was born on
February 8, 1851, in St. Louis, was an American acclaimed writer of short stories and novels. She
was also a poet, essayist, and a memoirist. Chopin grew up around many women; intellectual women
that is. Chopin said herself that she was neither a feminist nor a suffragist; she was simply a woman
who took other women intensely seriously. Chopin believed women had the ability to be strong,
individual, and free–spirited. She herself reached out, in...show more content...
(Harris). Men were superior; many saw women as no more than property. "No, I only think of you
as cruel, as I said the other day. Maybe not intentionally cruel; but you seem to be forcing me into
disclosures which can result in nothing; as if you would have me bare a wound for the pleasure of
looking at it, without the intention of healing it" (Chopin). The protagonist of her novel The
Awakening, Edna, acted quite the opposite of the way a 'real woman' of Chopin's time should act.
Critics/ scholars of Chopin's day responded to her work by labeling her novel, The Awakening, as
"vulgar, morbid, and disagreeable. Willa Cather, who would become a well known twentieth–century
American author, labeled it trite and sordid" (Koloski). Readers and reviewers condemned
Chopin's subjects such as, adultery, female sexuality, and miscegenation. The reason behind all
of this criticism is because the critics "expected to read a novel in descriptive language, colorful
characters, and the sights and sounds of Louisiana Creole life. Instead of local color however,
critics were shocked and dismayed at Edna's behavior and considered Chopin's novel morbid and
lacking literary value. In most cases, critics were at loss to explain the reasons why an artist with
Chopin's undisputed literary talent would contribute to what one reviewer called "the overworked
field of sex fiction" (Seyersted 219)". (Sprinkle). Chopin was awfully hurt by all of the

Oppression in Motherhood The article "Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Struggle Against Society and
Nature", written by Megan P. Kaplon, focuses on Chopin's rejection of the societal stereotype of
motherhood. Kaplon states in her thesis, "Kate Chopin displays this [her most shocking action of
denying the role of mother and wife] rejection gradually, but the concept of motherhood is a major
theme throughout the novel." This article provides a unique insight into society's predetermined role
for women, and the source of Edna Pontellier's unhappiness. Edna's inner battle with motherhood is
elaborated through the comparison of Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz; both women
symbolizing a path which are expected of women. Adele symbolizes the

The Story of an HourвЂќ by Kate Chopin Essay
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is very intriguing, not only because of the emotional
change Louise Mallard goes through the hour after her husband's tragic death but also the way
Chopin uses irony in the story. During this analysis of "The Story of an Hour" we will discuss the
summary, plot, setting, tone, theme, point of view, emotions of Louise Mallard and other characters
involved in the story. Chopin's story uses the feelings of a married woman in the late 1890's and
feminine identities, to help the reader better understand married life of a woman during that period
in time. In the story, Louise Mallard is a young woman with a heart condition who recently is
informed of her husband's...show more content...
I believe the story is very effective with the methods Chopin used to write with. "We are told of the
joy she feels with the freedom she finds in her husband's death, but we are not specifically told that
she is skeptical of marriage in general" (Hicks 1).The setting for this story is based in the spring of
1984 in Louisiana, "the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin 2). In
the story, Chopin does not describe many things with detail, she describes the only furniture as
being "comfortable, roomy armchair" (Chopin 2). Chopin also describes Mrs. Mallard as being,
"young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even certain strength" (Chopin
2). The only method of transportation that is mentioned in the story is railroad and the only reason
that method of transportation is mentioned is because that is how they believed Mr. Mallard died in
a horrible railroad disaster.
Chopin portrayed all of the characters very well throughout the story, which helped the story read
better. Louise Mallard is the protagonist in this story and the antagonist is the bandage she has on in
her role as a wife in the 1800's. There are only a few characters in this story and the main character
is Louise Mallard, she is very well developed and changes throughout the story. After finding out
about her husband's death she runs to her room and goes through many emotional changes. At first
Louise is sad and then she

Essay on Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin: A Controversial Feminist
Kate Chopin was one of the greatest and earliest feminist writers in history, whose works have
inspired some and drawn much criticism from others. Chopin, through her writings, had shown her
struggle for freedom and individuality.
Katherine (O'Flaherty) Chopin was born February 8, 1851 to a wealthy Irish Catholic Family in St.
Louis, Missouri ("Kate Chopin" 1). Her father, Thomas O'Flaherty, was a founder of the Pacific
Railroad, who unfortunately died when a train fell off a collapsed bridge on its inaugural trip in
1855. Only a few years later, Kate's older brother George was captured by Union soldiers during the
Civil War in 1863. He then...show more content...
It was he who suggested that Kate take up writing as a way of expressing herself and her frustration
with life.
Kate's writing career began when she published her first poem, "If It Might Be," in 1889. She
also published her first two short stories that same year, "Wiser Than a God," and, "A Point at
Issue." In 1890, Kate published her first novel, At Fault (3). The book depicted a young woman
who discovered that her fiancГ© had divorced his first wife because she was an alcoholic. After
struggling with her morals and trying to figure out what to do, she told him to marry his ex–wife
because it was the right thing to do. He surprisingly accepted her suggestion and remarried his wife
who then continued her alcoholic endeavors. She suffered an accident because of her drinking and
the husband and the woman were finally able to continue their relationship without any interference
or consequences. At Fault received mixed reviews, and was criticized for dealing too much with
female alcoholism and marriage problems. Later in January of 1893, Chopin published one of her
most famous short stories, "Desiree's Baby." This story was later included in Bayou Folk, a
collection of twenty–three short stories and sketches published in 1894. The stories included in this
collection depicted Louisiana life. Upon its publication, critics praised her portrayal of bayou

Kate Chopin Research Paper
Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin is a writer of the late 19th century. She wrote about the life as she observed it and her
feelings. Chopin's stories are very short and a third–person point of view was always used. It is said
that Chopin's writing style is more like the writers in the twentieth century because unlike her
contemporaries, she wrote in a direct and understated style and she suggest women's independence
and freedom which make her one of the first feminist writers though that was not her intention.
Besides, Chopin employs lots of foreshadowing and symbolism and irony with masterful skill and
she was flexibility in the use of language.
"The Story of an Hour" was published in 1894 which is very short, consists about one thousand word
and made...show more content...
The novel begins with a bird in a cage speaking in French saying, "Allez vous–en! Allez vous–en!
Sapristti!" which means "Go away, go away, for heaven's sakeпјЃ" Chopin used those French words
to bring readers to French Creole New Orleans. In addition, the bird was speaking" a language which
nobody understood" which signify that there is nobody around Edna can understand her. Besides,
the bird in the cage is a symbol word that imply Edna is entrapped by her marriage, her children and
Creole society. Though this French sentence, Kate Chopin transport readers into the time, the place
and the mind of Edna Potellier. Chopin's works contain clear elements of romanticism, realism,
naturalism and feminism. In the Chopin's stories, there are variety themes, such as the relationships
between man and woman and their characterization. At that time, men had more rights than women
and female were trapped by their marriage and children, by the economy and the society and by
their inner conflicts. Chopin thought this was an injustice, so that in most of her stories she makes
characters are powerful, they make decisions in the houses which was the role of man at that time.
Chopin suggests that female started to realize they can live free and independent and face their most
deep fears and

Research Paper on Kate Chopin and Her Works
Kate Chopin is best known for her novel, The Awakening, published in 1899. After its publication,
The Awakening created such uproar that its author was alienated from certain social circles in St.
Louis. The novel also contributed to rejections of Chopin's later stories including, "The Story of An
Hour" and "The Storm." The heavy criticism that she endured for the novel hindered her writing.
The male dominated world was simply not ready for such an honest exploration of female
independence, a frank cataloguing of a woman's desires and her search for fulfillment outside of the
institution of marriage.
Chopin, fatherless at four, was certainly a product of her Creole heritage, and was strongly
influenced by her mother and her maternal...show more content...
Per Seyersted, Chopin's biographer, writes in his introduction to The Complete Works ofKate Chopin
, Volume 1, that the reason why editors turned down a number of her stories was very likely that her
women became more passionate and emancipated (46). Given that "The Story of an Hour" was
published in 1894, several years after it was written, we can comprehend the importance of moral
grounds as a basis for rejection. Marriage was considered a sacred institution. Divorce was quite
rare in the 1800s and if one was to occur, men were automatically given legal control of all property
and children. Even the constitutional amendments, granting rights of citizenship and voting, gave
these rights to African Americans first, not women. Women were not granted the right to vote in
political elections until 1920. Obviously then, a female writer who wrote of women wanting
independence would not be received very highly, especially one who wrote of a woman rejoicing in
the death of her husband. The fact that she pays for her elation with her life at the end of the story is
not enough to redeem either the character or the author.
In Donald F. Larsson's entry on Kate Chopin in Critical Survey of Short Fiction, we learn that
consistently... strong–willed, independent heroines... [Who] cast a skeptical eye on the institution of
marriage is very characteristic of her stories (11). In "The Story of an Hour", we do not so much see
as intuit Mrs. Mallard's skeptical eye.

Kate Chopin: A Woman Ahead of Her Time Essay
Kate Chopin a Woman Ahead of Time
In the 1800's married women had to submit to their husbands. Woman who got married had no voice
with law. This meant their husbands would have to take legal action for them. Wives did not have
any rights to their own property, and they would not have right to wages they earn. But these started
to change through feminist women who raised their voice against men. Even though the feminist
movement started in the 1960's, there were women ahead of this time that were feminist too. In her
short story, "Story of an Hour", and novel "The Awakening", Kate Chopin explores the themes of
woman rebellion against their husbands, and woman becoming independent from their husbands.
Even though Kate Chopin was born...show more content...
Kate is very explicit in this story. "When he touched her breasts they gave themselves up in
quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips. Her mouth was a fountain of delight. And when he possessed
her, they seemed to swoon together at the very borderland of life's mystery." (Chopin, 122) Kate
was strongly criticized by society when she presented explicit material. Kate was criticized by
"The Storm", but it was "The Awakening" Kate's most criticized story. After she published it, it
became impossible for Chopin to publish her later work. Chopin was censored because of her
explicitness in her writing and also because at that time women were supposed to have only one
sexual partner. At that time Society did not believe infeminism. Her novel was out of print for
several decades, because society questioned Chopin's moral values in her writing. But all of
Chopin's writings are now available.
Contrary to some of her characters Kate was not an independent woman. She was only twenty
years old when she got married, and in a period of seven years she had six children. In her early
years Kate was always known as a "bright student and a great story teller", but her writing years did
not came until the 1880's. (Wyatt) Kate had a hard life, and it is assumable that she wrote about her
personal frustrations. Through her characters, Kate represented the idealisms of feminism.
A strong representation of feminism in "The Awakening" is Edna Pontellier.

Kate Chopin's Writing
Elizabeth Fox Genovese of Emory University shared in a PBS interview that "She [Kate Chopin]
was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the United States or, if you wish,
the cutting edge of modernism in American literature" (PBS – Interviews). Kate Chopin published
At Fault, her first novel, in 1890 and The Awakening, her last novel, in 1898 (Guilds 924). During
these years Chopin wrote numerous other works and most, like At Fault and The Awakening,
centered around upper–middle class Creole or French women involved in womanly uncertainties;
such as, extramarital affairs, acceptable behavior in society for females, duties as a wife,
responsibilities as a mother, and religious beliefs....show more content...
Chopin goes on to marry at the age of 20 to Oscar Chopin and bears 6 children. Mr. Chopin dies of
malaria after 12 years of marriage and, lastly, her mother passes three years after Mr. Chopin.
Chopin is devastated, left to raise 6 young children alone. Thus, began a writer's career based on an
essential need to support her family.
The Awakening was Chopin's major work and the most recognized in the literary world. This
story centered around Edna Pontellier, a woman searching for meaning of 'self' in a society that
held distinct understandings of a woman's role in life, as a wife, mother, and woman. Edna didn't
excel in any of these areas by any stretch of the imagination. Chopin wrote this character in a form
that was difficult to accept during the year it was published, 1899. This fact caused most critics to
negatively examine her best work. Chopin endured extreme humiliation for a creation that is in
current day considered an excellent novel. The intriguing characters supporting the lead role are a
clear array of life during this era and the location it is written about.
Leonce Pontellier loved his wife, although, his concern for her was questionably expressed by the
author. Leonce valued his wife as property and he consider her the sole object of his existence
(Culley 7). He felt he had made a good decision in his choice of a wife, taking pride in the children
she bore him and his life as a whole. In a part where Mr. Pontellier noticed his wife had a

Kate Chopin was a influential author that introduced powerful female characters to the american
literacy world. She was most known for her brilliant book The Awakening. However at that time it
received many negative reviews, causing the downfall of Kate's writing career. Now the book is
such a influential story that it is being taught in classrooms throughout the world. This essay will
discuss Kate Chopin's writing career and the impact her writing has on society. Kate Chopin was an
author best known for her strong leading female characters. The essence of her characters was based
on her female oriented upbringing. She was raised at home by her mother, grandmother, and great
grandmother and at school she was taught by nuns. The soul of...show more content...
Kate became nationally known as a short story writer in 1894. Her second novel The Awakening was
published in 1899 and it became the demise of her career. The majority of the stories written in that
era had a male dominant nature. Kate, creating main character roles of women, was one of the first
american writers to overcome those set society boundaries. She was a influential voice to the public
since she focused solely on the problems and needs of women living in a male dominant society. The
Awakening's main character, Edna, was awoman searching for a place in society, love, and
individuality. Kate impressively portrayed Edna as a free spirited woman who openly was
searching for her own happiness. The public at this time believed that portraying a woman in this
way was an abomination to the literary world. The continuous bad publicity of her second novel
made it exceptionally hard for her to publish more stories. Kate continued writing stories after The
Awakening was published. They were not revealed to the society since no publisher would publish
her stories because of her negative press. On August 20th, 1904, Kate was at a St. Louis World's
Fair and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. She remained in hospital until her death on August 22nd.
Kate Chopin was buried at St. Louis's cemetery next to her son and husband. Kate Chopin was a
great author who knew how to express women trying

Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin Essay
In order for women to acquire freedom and gain power, they must fight and emancipate every
oppression they suffer from to prove that the once oppressed can and will become among the most
successful. In her short fictional story entitled "The Story of an Hour", author Kate Chopin gives the
tragic death of Mrs. Mallard's husband an ironic context in which she deals with moving from
oppression to freedom. She brilliantly intertwines her themes with symbolism and situational irony to
reflect the historical impact for her gender of the time.
In her story, Chopin mainly pools the themes she uses to shape her plot from the gender issues in a
historical context about women's lives of the time. She links events of her own life to her "Story of
an Hour"....show more content...
She illustrates the issue first through Mr. Mallard's death that creates his wife's mixed feelings of
grief and happiness (Chopin 429). According to Mrs. Mallard, the positive part of the story resides
in the fact that she acquires her freedom and self–esteem back long years after engaging in her
marriage which she indirectly describes as a state of imprisonment with a person she has to be
submissive to. The irony comes towards the end with the narrator mentioning "a joy that kills"
(Chopin 429). When Mr. Mallard actually crosses the door, Chopin describes the wife so shocked
by his return that she immediately surrenders to death from desolation and despair (Chopin 429).
His sudden yet unexpected return washes away the brief moment of freedom she dreams of in front
of the window, that leads her to take the initiative to strive for it after his death. Frustrated and
determined to make a difference, Chopin's intent for creating such a tragic story resides once again
in her will to relate her personal struggles from being "restrained under Catholic dogma at home"
(Snodgrass) to her writings about the "revolt against double standard" (Snodgrass). She also wishes
to continue supporting women of her time by showing the struggles in their battles for freedom and
independence from men's

Essay about Kate Chopin Short Stories
Kate Chopin was an American feminist fiction writer and a woman ahead of her time. She lived in
the socially conservative nineteenth–century, but in her stories, she wrote about unconventional
characters, particularly women, that caused others to question her morality. Similar to the female
characters in her stories, Kate Chopin was an independent woman. She would often smoke cigarettes
or walk in the streets unaccompanied; these practices were considered unusual for a
nineteenth–century woman to do ("Katherine Chopin"). One critic points out that many of Chopin's
stories are characteristic of "independent heroines" and their conjugal relationships (qtd. in Hicks).
"The Story of an Hour" and "The Storm" are two of Chopin's feministic short...show more content...
In addition, because women were uneducated, each needed a husband for economic support.
Perhaps Mrs. Mallard only married because society told her that it was her duty as a woman to do
so. Her true feelings of marriage and her husband were repressed, making her feel as if she were a
prisoner. However, she would not let anyone know her thoughts because it was expected that she
mourn the loss of her husband.
Marriages are mutual relationships, so in reality, neither partner in a marriage has absolute
freedom. However, Mrs. Mallard's desire to "live for herself" shows how incompatible she was as a
wife. She even reveals that at times she did not love her husband. Of course, in marriages,
arguments are commonplace. During an argument, the couple may feel hatred more than they feel
love (Berkove "Fatal"). Yet, Mrs. Millard views love as an "unsolved mystery" that is secondary to
"self–assertion" which was "the strongest impulse of her being!" The fact that she has no children
further illustrates her unfruitful marriage and desire for freedom.
It is curious that Mrs. Mallard is given the name "Louise" only after she realizes her freedom. At
first she is referred to as "Mrs." or as "she." The transition shows how Louise eludes her marriage
when her husband dies. Reference to her new name now gives Louise hope: "She breathed a quick
prayer that life might be long." Yesterday, before her husband's death, she did not wish for a long
life; perhaps because she was unhappy

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin Essay examples
Illogical, submissive, and sensual are some of the words used to describe the view of women during
the nineteenth century. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells the controversial story of a
woman, Edna Pontellier, and her spiritual growing. Throughout the story, Edna constantly battles
between her heart's desires and society's standard. The novel shows how two women's lives
influence Edna throughout the novel. Mademoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle are both in their
own way strong, motherly influences in Edna's life. Mademoiselle Reisz is Edna the mother who
wants Edna to pursue her heart's desires. Madame Ratignolle however, is the type of mother to
Edna who wants Edna to do what is socially right. The way the two live...show more content...
As Edna becomes her own person, she also becomes a better artist. Being an artist comes with
responsibility in the novel. Prior to her awakening, she does not consider herself as an artist. The
novel states, "Mrs. Pontellier had brought her sketching materials, which she sometimes she
dabbled. She liked the dabbling" (13). After she awakens however, her artistic abilities increase
and she begins to sell her artwork. Ironically, Edna and Mademoiselle Reisz have similar
characteristics. Mademoiselle Reisz is Edna's spiritual mother in a way, and the two have a love
hate relationship. Mademoiselle Reisz is a key factor in Edna's awakening, and she encourages
her as she goes towards her heart's desires. She knows that Edna does not want to answer to her
husband or always watch after her children, and the best way to do so is to be like Mademoiselle
Reisz.
Another reason Mademoiselle Reisz is significant to Edna is because she is the only one who
knows about and Robert and Edna's love. Mademoiselle explains Robert's love for Edna, " It is
because he loves you, poor fool, and is trying to forget you, since you are not free to listen to him
or belong to him " (95). Edna's love for Robert is the reason why she quickly becomes uninvolved
with her family and the life she is socially supposed to have. She does what she wants with disregard
to anything her husband has to say.

The Unique Style Of Kate Chopin 's Writing
The unique style of Kate Chopin's writing has influenced and paved the way for many female
authors. Although not verbally, Kate Chopin aired political and social issues affecting women and
challenging the validity of such restrictions through fiction. Kate Chopin, a feminist in her time,
prevailed against the notion that a woman's purpose was to only be a housewife and nothing more.
Kate Chopin fortified the importance of women empowerment, self–expression, self–assertion, and
female sexuality through creativity in her literary work.
Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on February 8, 1850, to an affluent family.
Chopin's life had a great deal of trauma, losing her father in a railroad accident and her beloved
grandmother dying shortly after impacted her life. Kate spent the Civil War in St. Louis, a city
where residents supported both the Union and the Confederacy and where her family had slaves
in the house. Chopin married at an early age of nineteen to a wealthy French man in 1870 and the
two settled in New Orleans. Kate Chopin's writing career began with her life and experiences in
St. Louis, New Orleans; she wrote short stories, novels and so on. "At Fault" was Chopin's very
first novel, a book about a religious widow in love with a divorced man, which was not typical in
the nineteenth century. Kate Chopin was a daring writer, she wrote many controversial stories and
books about women freedom, sex, and extramarital affairs. For example, Chopin wrote short

Kate Chopin Biography Essay
Kate Chopin Biography Kate Chopin was an American Author who born in Catherine O' Flaherty
in St Luis on February 8, 1850. Eliza Faris who was from St Luis too was her mother. Chopin father
was a successful businessman who died when Kate was only 5 years old. For that reason, Kate
grows up in a woman dominated the environment. Chopin mother, great–grandmother and the female
slave, used to take of the children most of the time. Chopin started her career as an author when her
husband suddenly died, leaving her with six kids and financially broke. Chopin mother died too a
few moths later. For that reason, she started feeling devastated, and that immerse her in a period of
depression. As a result, her Doctor recommended to her, to started writing her, though. Chopin first
publication was a short story At Fault in 1889(Toth, 1). Since Chopin started writing her work
received many positive and negative review for controversial topics that she uses in her work. She
was one of the first and the important...show more content...
Chopin wrote about the woman in conformity about her social role, self–discovery, and woman
sexuality, becoming a pioneer for the others woman until today. Other topics that possessed great
significance like married, racial prejudice, Lesbianism and social equality was present in her work
during her career. One of her more controversial work at that time was Fedora and Lilacs for the
lesbian elements present in the work. Others significant works for the social content "Desiree's
Baby," "La Belle ZoraГЇde," "Tante Cat'rinette," or NГ©g CrГ©ol, where the themes are connected
toward race. In The Awakening, Chopin most important novel, Edna Portlier goes under profound
changes in her character, attitudes, behaviors. She was a heroin that lives her own rebellion against
the customs of the society, as well as the others characters, do in Chopin

Kate Chopin Essay

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