Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin

What was Kate Chopin known for?

Kate Chopin is one of the first feminist author who emerged in the 20th century. She is considered to be the one who introduced the modern feminist movement in literature. Chopin was following and leading a traditional life until one day a tragedy hit her. An untimely death of her husband changed her course of life and she left her image of being just a housewife.

She was greatly influenced by Guy de Maupassant, a French story writer. In her time she became a very prolific and talented short story writer who provoked the thoughts of the readers. She is widely famous for her novel The Awakening. The Awakening was a hauntingly psychic story of a woman who has unfulfilled desires in her life.

Most of the fiction which was written by Kate Chopin were based in Louisiana and her works mainly used to focus on the life of sensitive women of the country. She wrote a total of two novels and a total of hundred short stories in her time. The short stories which were written by the author was well received in her time and was well appreciated by her readers. Her short stories were published in notable magazines in her time namely the Vogue and Youth’s Companion. Twenty six of the short stories which were written by her were children stories.

The first novel of the author ‘At Fault’ did not make much stir in the literary world but her second novel made her famous. ‘The Awakening’ was critiqued a lot by other authors at that time. The novel was cited to be very much obscene and very direct which have hurt the sentiments of a lot of people at that time. A lot of author did not agree with the views which has been stated in the novel. The views and the various ideas which has been system by the author in the novel was very much morbid and was sordid in nature.

The novels which has been written by the author has been forgot after her death but her short stories went a long way after her death. Her short stories were seen to be published I several anthology across the century. Her short stories were reprinted over the years which is the reason that the people have come to know about her book. In 1930 a biography of the author was published which showed the various talents which the author was possessing and in the biography her novels and short stories were thoroughly described and defined. The biography dismissed her novel awakening which was a major setback. People at that time did not believe her novel and were not able to accept the various facts which has been stated by her in her novel.

Importance of Kate Chopin

With her writings Kate Chopin has been known to portray the actual information to the audience. With her various writings Kate Chopin used to capture the audience. During her time her works were greatly criticized by the people as well as the various authors. Kate did not listen to any of these and she stood up for the women and their rights. Through her writings Kate Chopin used to portray the various struggles through which the women at that era had to go through.

The short story which were written by her often has the presence of a powerful message and most of the stories used to have a surpassing endings which used to capture the attention of the audience. With the help of her it has become very easy to understand the history and the condition of the women at that time. By the help of her stories Kate used to portray a historical fiction which is very useful in the present time. The representation of a historical fiction becomes very easy with the help of her writings mainly the novels and the short stories.

Kate Chopin was a pure feminist and she fought for the rights of the women in that era. She did not fear the various criticism and the threat which she received in her time. She used pot very brave and did not change the style of her writing rather she kept writing the various short stories which were very much important to represent the condition of the women in that era. Most of the stories which has been written by her represented the various needs of the women in that era and how they are suffering in their daily lives. She has repeatedly pointed out in her words that women also have souls and they have the same right to feel like the men of the society.

During that era it was a male dominating society and the women were suppressed by the women and they found it hard to be happy. Kate Chopin has been through similar conditions so she could understand the various needs of the women and she used opt portray that through her writings. Most of the women in that era were held back by their husbands which was oppressing them from performing the various things which they felt and wanted to do. With the help of her various writings Kate was fighting for equality between the man and women of that era.

The first novel which was written by Kate Chopin was not very famous and it gathered a lot of controversy from all around the world since it was very blatant. The reality was put forward to the world by her and she did not let herself stop herself for bringing up the various truth of the women in that era. The Awakening was clawed tasteless and the critics did not take it in a good way though this did not stop Kate from writing other stories or another novel. She was determined to bring up the truth to the whole world.

Her novels and short stories were slowly forgotten after her death and they were stopped printing by the printing press but slowly in the 1950s the authors’ cam to understand her stories. It was at that time that the story were slowly revealed to the world and at the present tome we can understand the values of her writing and the various ways by the help of which the equality among the women will be brought about unh the present world. At present time her works are mainly known for the various points which depicts equality in the society and the various ways by the help of which women will be treated properly in the modern world. Though in the past it has been seen that her works were going out of print and the importance of her writings were not understood by the people yet in the present time it can be said that the authors and the readers understand the meaning of her work in a very proper way.

Audiences and the readers around the world are mostly interested in the happy ending of a story and do the people did not used to like most of the stories which were written by Kate Chopin. Kate used to represent the various ideas which were actually taking place rather than making some changes in the story. After reading her stories the readers were generally shocked and they did not understand the value of her stories and the various ways by the help of which she is portraying her ideas.

Writing style of Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin was very unique in her writing style than other authors in her time. She used to write about feelings and stated that women also have certain desires and certain aspects which they want to fulfill in their lifetime. This was the reason her stories were considered to be taboo in her time period since the patriarchal society did not want any kind of independence to the women. Feminism is the main theme on which most of the writing of Kate Chopin revolved around. Most of the words which have been done by Chopin has clear elements of realism, romanticism, naturalism, transcendentalism and feminism. With the help of her writings students are able to understand the various literary elements by the help of which the American literature has been shaped in the last decade. With the help of her works Chopin has aided in finding out the various virtues which defined consciousness and clear imagery.

Chopin used to believe that both the men and the women must have the same power and both of them must be treated properly. Most of her writings have been inspired by Guy De Maupassant. She believed that both men and women had great difficulty in living under one roof. Both women and men has their own understanding and they like to express the ideas and do not want to come under any kind of pressure. This was not the same for the women in the era as they were opposed under the men in the society. The structure of the society did not help them from expressing their own ideas.

Kate Chopin’s Childhood

Kate Chopin was born on 8th February 1850. Her mother was Eliza Ferris was from an Old French family and her father was Thomas. Thomas was a very successful businessman and he died when Kate was merely 5 years old. Kate was born and brought up in the family which was mainly dominated by women. Her mother and her grandmother took care of her while she was young and also the number of female slaves who used to come to her household.

In her young age Kate Chopin used to spend most of her time in reading books which were kept in the attic and used to gather ideas from there. The great-grandmother of Kate used to teach her how to speak French and also helped her in learning how to play piano. Her great grandmother was very successful businesswoman and Kate was very much influenced by her character. Her great grandmother was separated from her husband as she took care of her herself. This woman set a great example for Kate and shoed how strong a woman can be and they need to be independent too as they are no less than men.

Like the rest of the members of the Family Kate grew up to be a strong independent woman who was ready to challenge the whole world. When Kate was 13 years old she lost her half-brother and she tore a union flag which was hung in her house. This showed the characteristics of Kate and the type of character she was going to portray in her adulthood.

In her childhood Kate Chopin faced a lot of trauma which has shaped her personality in her late life. Her father was killed in a railroad accident. During the civil war her family was kept as slaves in a house. She even lost her half-brother in the hands of the union. These are the certain mishaps which has happened with her in her childhood which paved way for the Kate the world at the present know. The various pain and the emotion which she has gone through in her lifetime has been imprinted in her stories and novels.

Death of Kate Chopin

The death of the author came suddenly and was quiet unexpected at that time. The author passed away on August 22, 1904 due to a massive cerebral hemorrhage. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when blood from one of the arteries starts bleeding into the brain of the patient. This generally happens when a certain or a weak blood cell bursts and the blood surrounds the brain. Bleeding inside the brain is very dangerous and most of the time this results in the death of an individual. The main reasons due to which this might have happened to Kate Chopin is due to increased blood pressure or certain trauma that has happened to her.