Kate Chopin (1850-1904) Was Born Katherine O\'Flaherty

Kate Chopin (1850-1904) was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1850. She didn't begin her writing career until after 1882, the year in which her husband, Oscar Chopin died (Toth). She spent several years publishing short stories, based on the Creole and Cajun cultures of Louisiana, where she and Oscar had lived. Her first novel, At Fault, was published in 1890. It was her second novel The Awakening that caused the backlash of the press because of Chopin's depiction of a woman with a developing sense of independence, and sexual discovery (Toth). This novel has since become her masterpiece and legacy, and what she is remembered for. She died in 1904, long before her genius was truly recognized or appreciated.

Kate Chopin's writing style is descriptive, and yet simplistic. Her tendency to focus on women has become a thread through which all her stories are woven. Her feminist appeal stems from her gradual evolution to write stories about empowering women, as well as women's desires, and needs. Chopin's characters, as stated before, tend to focus on the Creole and Cajun women she exposed herself to during her married life (Toth). She accurately and beautifully wrote about their mannerisms, customs, and dialect. Her insight into the needs, both physical and emotional, of women - young, old, married, unmarried - was remarkable; truly her gift that was silenced too soon. Chopin seemed to have been living in the wrong place at the wrong time, for her writing was beyond her generation (Toth).

Pair of Silk Stockings is one of Chopin's short stories about the escapism that women often retreat into, in order to liberate themselves from the responsibilities of motherhood, and marriage. Chopin describes little Mrs. Sommers in exquisite detail, from her body language to her shabby clothing (Chopin). However, it is important to note that Chopin never fully described her facial features, providing her with a universal appeal. Mrs. Sommers could have been anyone, maybe even you, seems to be the implied suggestion of Chopin. Its not just the story, but how Chopin gets the reader to feel sympathy for this woman who just spent $15, a fortune in that time, on herself and frivolous items (Chopin). Chopin is not implying that Mrs. Somers wants to abandon her children, but merely that she would like to abandon the overwhelming responsibilities for one afternoon.

Not that all of Chopin's woman characters deserved sympathy from the reader. In The Kiss, the reader is most likely appalled by the actions of Miss Nathalie (Chopin). That is just part of the story, though, because Chopin can make a one-thousand-word story into a cry for all womankind for love, true love, without concern of money. Financial need is a recurring element in many of her stories, exploring the complexities of marriage for love, or marriage for need. Miss Nathalie's desire to have it all, despite her actions, is what the reader walks away remembering (Chopin).

Respectable Woman is a different sort of read from Chopin, in that the main character, Mrs. Baroda, does not succumb to her unexplored, new desires for discovery (Chopin). I dare say that Chopin wrote this story earlier than The Awakening, in which sexual discovery is quite open, though I am unsure of the published date of A Respectable Woman. Chopin herself seemed to become less constrained as her writing progressed, and allowed herself (along with her characters) free reign to explore and search for meaningful encounters on sexual and personal levels. Mrs. Baroda does not give into her desires to be closer to Gouvernail, but she does however imply that she will, when she suggests her husband's friend come for a visit again at the conclusion of the story (Chopin).

Chopin's work for me is inspiring. The idea that women can liberate themselves, along with their bodies, just for pleasures-sake, yet still be mothers is ingenious. Because it was such a radical concept during the 1800s, Chopin was exiled by her colleagues - what a shame. I would be interested to know how many women were secretly reading her stories with excitement and wonder. Chopin became secluded, and her works became obscure. If she had not been stifled so soon, imagine the volumes of extraordinary works we could now enjoy. It is inconceivable to me that women could not write about such things as the need for independence and a separate identity from their mates, when men were almost given free reign in their writings.