She married, and was content, but when given her freedom, she chose to keep it and expand on it. She urged other women to do the same thing, and find their own version of happiness and contentment.
Chopin also was raised by a family of strong women, and in turn, grew to be a strong, independent woman herself. She wanted to create the same feelings in her own daughter, and in other women. She was sure of herself, something that many women of her time were not, and she served as a role model for women who wanted to be like her. While she was heavily criticized for many of her works, but when she died in 1904, most critics praised at least some of her work, and called her a "remarkably talented woman" (Toth 239). Today, she is seen as a feminist ahead of her time, who recognized the constraints society placed on women, and wanted to do something about it. One of her last acts was to provide in her will for her only daughter, to make sure she always had an income of her own, and did not have to rely on the men in her life (Toth 237).
In addition, Chopin never married after losing her husband, and most of her friendships were with other strong and capable women. They gave each other support and care when they needed it, and knew they could rely on each other. Thus, Chopin drew her strength throughout her life from strong women, and her writings gave some of that strength back to her readers. If she influenced women to take a stand and gain their independence, it has not been noted, but at the turn of the 20th century, women were demanding more rights, and her writings certainly went along with this theme. Chopin proved women were capable of warm, loving relationships with men and women, and could take care of themselves when necessary. She was a remarkable woman who was truly ahead of her time.
Chopin was a voice for women, but her fiction...
When the Awakening was published, critics called Edna greedy, selfish, a poor mother, and many other derogatory things (Toth 209). In fact, Chopin's work really did not resonate with readers until the 1960s and 70s, when English teachers and many feminists happened across her writings and "rediscovered" them. Her voice seems to resonate with women today, as if she could see into the future and understand the things that would create havoc in women's lives today. The women of her time were afraid to stand up for themselves, but modern readers are not. Yet, they can still identify with the women in the novels, because they know that there are still areas of society that subjugate and denigrate women, just like marriage and husbands did in Chopin's time.
In
conclusion, Chopin clearly takes a dim view of marriage in general. It is known her mother suffered in a happy marriage, and was then "set free," and she herself suffered in a brief but unhappy marriage. Her stories reflect this constriction and control, especially the Story of an Hour. Mrs. Mallard feels grief, but more than that, she feels joy and a sense of freedom. When it is taken away, it is too much to
bear, and the story ends tragically for her. She dies, but even worse, she never really gets to experience the
freedom she so recently discovered.
References
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening, and Other Stories. Ed. Pamela Knights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories." The Atlantic Monthly Nov. 2002: 125.
Ryan, Steven T. "Depression and Chopin's 'The Awakening." The Mississippi Quarterly 51.2 (1998): 253+.
Thomas, Heather Kirk. "Kate Chopin's Scribbling Women and the American Literary Marketplace." Studies in American Fiction 23.1 (1995):…
