Kate Chopin worked on a third collection of stories called A Vocation and a Voice which included her famous short story "The Story of an Hour". The story examines a woman's reaction to suddenly gaining her independence after learning of her husband's death. However, it ends surprisingly when she discovers that her husband is actually still alive. Chopin continued writing even when this collection was rejected by publishers. She also worked on her masterpiece The Awakening during this time, which was condemned for its portrayal of female sexuality when it was published in 1899.

1. Lecture Notes on Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour Aiden Yeh WTUC 2006

2. http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/ http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

3. http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/kate_chopin_coutierville.aspx

4. Biography

8. Kate worked on third collection, A Vocation and a Voice , which included work previously rejected by magazine publishers. Publishers who felt the work dealt too explicitly with love, sex, and marriage rejected this collection . Included in this collection is Chopin's most famous short story, " The Story of an Hour ," in which an ill woman learns of her husband's accidental death. The story examines the woman's reaction to her sudden and unexpected independence and ends surprisingly when she discovers her husband is actually alive. Even when the collection was rejected , Kate continued writing, and aside from her short stories she produced poems and submitted essays to several St. Louis periodicals. http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

9. It was also during this time that she was working on what is now considered her masterpiece, The Awakening . Before publication of The Awakening , Chopin wrote another now-famous short story, "The Storm." "The Storm," about two lover's infidelity during a thunderstorm, shows Chopin's interest in passion and infidelity. The Awakening was published in 1899. This work was condemned in its time because of its sexual openness . It was rediscovered in the 1950s and has since received many accolades for the beauty of its writing and for its modern sensibility. With the stormy weather surrounding The Awakening , her editors decided to suspend publication of her third collection of stories, A Vocation and a Voice. The collection was not published until 1991, 87 years after her death. http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

10. Her early stories were well-received nationally and earned her literary fame as a "local colorist," even appearing in the first issue of Vogue . However, her career was devastated when The Awakening was published in 1899. It drew a storm of criticism for its "shocking, morbid, and vulgar" story and quickly went out of print. The novel was not resurrected until the 1950s, when its importance was recognized by participants in the growing women's movement. Today The Awakening is among the five most-read American novels in colleges and universities and is considered an early example of American realism.

11. http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html

12. http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/library/storyofanhour.html

13. http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/chopin.htm

15. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/storyofhour.html