Research Paper on Kate Chopin and Her Works - 2380 Words

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 Chopins 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 womans 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, Chopins biographer, writes in his introduction to The Complete Works of Kate 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 fem ale 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. Larssons 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. Mallards skeptical eye.Show MoreRelatedResearch Paper on Kate Chopin and the Feminism in Her Works2066 Words   |  9 PagesAp English 08 27 April 2012 Kate Chopin: Feminism in Her Works â€Å"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 neitherRead MoreLeo Haines. Professor Capozzi. Research Paper. April 29,1518 Words   |  7 PagesLeo Haines Professor Capozzi Research Paper April 29, 2017 Kate Chopin Kate Chopin was a famous author of short stories and articles. Kate was born on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis Missouri, and she grew up speaking English and French. After her husband has passed in 1882, and that is when her writing career launched. In most of her novels and stories her characters are bilingual, also known as fluent in two languages. Kate Chopin using the theme of feminism in her stories, â€Å"The Awakening†, â€Å"TheRead MoreA Short Note On Fawziya Mousa Ghanim Iraq1612 Words   |  7 Pagessubject that I want to write about it. 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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 AwakeningRead MoreWomen s Self Discovery Through Literary Text1902 Words   |  8 Pagesbeings. Authors like Kate Chopin presented her views on sex, marriage, and women during that period. While authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman highlighted women’s desire to me more than just a wife. Chopin uses the self-awareness journey in The Awakening to reveal how difficult it was for women to be liberating through Edna Pontellier. Gilman stresses the struggle women went through when trying to find themsel ves and their freedom in her short story â€Å"The Yellow Wall-paper.† Both literary texts