Kate Chopin, a Feminist Revolutionary

By Matthew Cox


Kate Chopin is a 19th Century writer famous for her subject matter which is revolutionary for its time. Her themes deal with divorce, sexual relations, alcholholism, and other things from a female’s point of view. She bases her work on living in the South. They concern how people from different races, social classes, and ethnic backgrounds relate with each other. Chopin’s most famous work is The Awakening. It deals with Edna Pontellier, aun upper class woman who is not happy in her marriage. Her husband is a work-aholic and does not spend time with the main character. While vacationing in Grande Isle, Edna meets Robert, a man who truly loves her. However, he breaks up with her because she is married. Edna is so upset that she drowns herself. A short story that Chopin writes is called “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” Mrs. Sommers is a woman who finds fifteen dollars. She spends it on herself to buy nice clothes, an expensive meal, and to see a play. The character shows how independent women should be with their own money. Kate Chopin writes stories about women thinking and feeling good about themselves.

Kate Chopin is a cutting-edge writer who lives in the late 1800’s (Skaggs). Her stories deal with controversial issues for the time including interracial relationships, divorce, female sexuality, and infidelity. She is born into a wealthy Roman Catholic Family in St. Louis. Chopin attends catholic schools and married Oscar Chopin, a Cajun businessman from south Louisiana. Kate has six children and acts as a socialite with her husband. After going bankrupt, the family moves from New Orleans to Coulterville. There, they manage a farm and store owned by the Chopin family. In 1882, Oscar dies and leaves Kate to care for their family. With little money. Two years later, the move back to St. Louis.

At the age of 39, Kate starts to write fiction and poetry in 1889. Within ten years, she publishes twenty poems, ninety-five short stories, two novels, one play, and eight essays of literary criticism. Critics say that her fiction is are her best pieces. Most of her stories take place in 19th Century Louisiana. They deal with the relationships between the upper and lower classes. She also explores the interactions of ethnic groups including Creoles, Cajuns, Anglo-Americans, mulattoes, and African Americans. Mostly, the books deal with the way men and women relate to each other.

Chopin’s work deals with avant-garde subject matter. Her first two stories include “Wiser Than God” and “A Point of an Issue.” The central ideas of both tales focus on women asserting their independence from their husbands and traditional values. She also points out how independent women have happy marriages and lives of their own. Literary experts say that these stories do not have the finesse of her later books. However, they pave the way for her most important work “The Awakening.” In 1890, Chopin writes her first novel, At Fault. She portrays the protagonist as a strong woman who deals with two taboo subjects for the time: divorce and alcoholism. Boldness like this ends her literary career nine years later. Despite the controversial themes, the book receives little attention.
The writer publishes her first stories in newspapers and magazines in St. Louis and New Orleans. They concern feminist ideas. Kate also writes two children’s stories, including “Loka” and “Odalie Misses Mass” in eastern magazines. Over the next few years, she puts out works including the story collections of Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie. Chopin completes an unpublished collection called A Vocation and a Voice. It contains both children’s stories and ones with mature themes. Her other adult writings include "Athénaïse," "A Pair of Silk Stockings," "The Story of an Hour," and The Awakening. These stories involve women who feel enslaved by their husbands or marriages. In other tales including “Regret,” she portrays females who are happy with their family life. Kate’s daring works include “Desiree’s Baby.” It shows interracial love relationships. “La Belle Zoraide” depicts the eveils of slavery even under the kindest masters. “A Voice and a Vocation” concerns the identity crises in both men and women when they face sexual attrition towards each other.

Many literary scholars in the 20th Century do not take Chopin seriously. After her Complete Works is published, critics begin to notice how important her style is. They see the influences of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Henry James, and Guy de Maupassant. The ideals of Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and realism show up too. Many experts also note the feminist ideas in the stories as well.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is quite shocking for its time (Evans). Edna Pontellier, the protagonist has unconventional behavior and “sexual awakenings. The plot starts in Grande Isle where the Pontellier family is vacationing. Leonce, Edna’s husband is Creole who puts business before family. She is no happy because women in her day are expected to marry because of social status and not love. The husband puts her on a pedestal and does not really treat her like a person. While at Grande Isle, the wife falls in love with Robert Lebrun. They often times go to the beach together. The woman finally realizes that she is an individual at the age of 28. This is like Edna wakes up from a dream and faces reality. After making the discovery, Mrs. Pontellier becomes a new person. She ignores her children and disobeys her husband. The protagonist also learns how to swim which symbolizes her independence. At this time, Edna becomes friends with two other women, Mademoiselle Reisz, a pianist, and Madame Ratignolle, a motherly lady.
Mrs. Pontellier gets upset when Robert leaves for Mexico. Leonce insists that she follows the expectations of their conservative, upper class lifestyle. Once, he tried to get Edna to attend her sister’s wedding, but she refuses. Her husband goes to new York on a Business trip, but she wants to stay behind. The children stay with their grandparents, and Mrs. Pontellier enjoys being alone. She starts a love affair with Alcee Arobin. He shows her how sex can be wonderful. Leonce never made interment relations pleasant for her. Edna moves into a smaller house. When Leonce comes back, he tried to cover his wife’s strange behavior by putting a notice in the newspaper saying that their house is being remodeled. Mrs. Pontellier likes the smaller house better than the mansion that her family lives in.
Robert comes back and Edna sees him at Mademoiselle Reisz house. The protagonist is very upset because he has been in New Orleans for two days and does not contact her. Despite having an affair, Edna till loves Robert. Both people meet a few days later and he walks her home. The boyfriend says that he is still in love with her. However, Robert regrets that they cannot stay together because she is married. The couple gets interrupted when a person sends Edna massage that Madame Ratignolle is sick. She asks Robert to wait for her. When Edna gets back, she finds that Robert is gone. He leaves her a note telling her goodbye. The main character is so distraught, she returns to Grande Isle. Edna swims out to far and commits suicide by drowning.
Another famous story by Chopin is “A Pair of Silk Stockings” which is published in 1894 in the collection called Bayou Folk. The main character is Mrs. Sommers who finds fifteen dollars one night (Chopin). She debates if investing the money is better than spending it. Mrs. Sommers thinks about buying clothes for her children. However, she feels like that her husband never gets things that are important to her. Also, Mrs. Sommers worries if she will regret spending the money on herself or the family. The protagonist thinks about bargains what she wants the cash for.

One day, she feeds the children while running errands and forgets to have lunch herself. In a hungry daze, the protagonist leans against a display of silk stockings and feels how good they are. The pieces of clothing cost $1.98. Mrs. Sommers buys a pair for five dollars. A female store clerk helps her to fit them on. However, the customer is very wrapped up with letting the stockings feel good on her skin. She does not pay attention to the price difference from the ones she already looks at. Next, Mrs. Sommers buys a pair of expensive gloves with more of her money. They give her a sense of comfort. Still feeling hungry, the protagonist buys a meal at the local restaurant. After that, she sees a play and buys a box of fine chocolates. This takes the rest of her money. Mrs. Sommers enjoys her day doing what she wishes. Kate Chopin writes stories about women thinking and feeling good about themselves.

The writer is controversial for her time because she writes about taboo tapics including divorce, sexual relations, alcholholism, and other issues concerning women. Much of her work deal with the relationships between races, social classes, ethnic groups, and men and women in the South. Kate’s most popular is The Awakening. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is a woman who is in an unhappy marriage. Leonce, the hushand, work all the time and shows her little respect. She meets a man who truly loves her named Robert while vacationing on Grande Isle. They break up because he does not want to date a married woman. The woman drowns herself because she is so distraught. Chopin’s short story, “A Pair of Silk Stockings” involves Mrs. Sommers. She finds fifteen dollars and spends it on herself to buy things that she enjoys including nice clothes, an expensive meal, and a play.






Works Cited:


Chopin, Kate. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” Cyber Studios, Inc. 2008. 22 March 2008
http://chopin.classicauthors.net/silkstockings/

Evans, Patricia. “Kate Chopin's The Awakening” Internet School Library Media
Center. 2008. 22 March 2008.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/southchopin.html

Skaggs, Patricia. “Kate Chopin.” Houghton Mifflin College Division. 2008.
22 March 2008.
http://www.college.hmco.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/
late_nineteenth/chopin_ka.html