Biography
Kate Chopin was one of the most influential nineteenth century American fiction writers. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on either one of three dates: February 8, 1851, February 8, 1850, or July 12, 1850, depending on the source. She once said that she was born in 1851, but her baptismal certificate states February 8, 1850 as her birthday (Inge, 2). There is also an indiscretion regarding the spelling of her name. Her full name is Katherine O’Flaherty Chopin, but one source spells her first name with a ‘C’ (Katherine, 1). Her father, Thomas O’Flaherty, was an Irish immigrant who became a successful merchant in St. Louis. Her mother, Eliza Faris O’Flaherty, came from a wealthy aristocratic Creole family (Inge, 2). Kate Chopin was a student at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis. Here she learned the Catholic teachings and great intellectual discipline. She graduated from this French school in 1868 (Inge, 2). On June 9th in 1870, she married Oscar Chopin. Together the couple had six children: Jean (1871), Oscar (1873), George (1874), Frederick (1876), Felix (1878), and Lelia (1879) (Inge, 3).
During the 12 years that she was married, Chopin spent 9 years in New Orleans and the following three years in Cloutierville in Natchitoches Parish (Inge, 3). She was an extremely unconventional woman for her era. Not only did she write about a forbidden subject, female sexuality, but she smoked cigarettes and would go on long walks through the streets of New Orleans by herself, both of which were not common practices during the nineteenth century (Inge, 3). Kate Chopin enjoyed the variety of cultures that surrounded her in Louisiana; she was involved in the lives of the wealthy Creoles and the poor sharecroppers.
Tragedy struck her in December of 1882, when her husband became ill from swamp fever and passed away (Inge, 3). Shortly after his death, Chopin became involved with a man by the name of Albert Sampite, a married man (Anderson, 1). A lot of inspiration is thought to have come from this relationship because so many of the characters in her stories are married individuals who become sexually involved with a single partner resulting in a relationship that ethically could never survive. She left Cloutierville in 1884, partly because of her relationship with Sampite, and moved back to St. Louis to be close to her mother (Inge, 3).
When she was a teenager she kept a diary. A few years later she met her husband Oscar Chopin. They got married and they moved down to Louisiana from Saint Louis. They had six children together; five boys and one girl.
Wyatt, Neal "Biography of Kate Chopin" English 384: Women Writers. Ed. Ann M. Woodlief Copyright: 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University. (26 Jan. 1999) http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/katebio.htm
... state of European society just prior to the outbreak. He then gives a very comprehensive account of the development and progression of the epidemic throughout the Mediterranean Basin and the European Continent. He discusses the effects that the plague had in the various geographical areas also explains the reactions of the Christian/Muslin clergies, the secular authorities, and the communities in general. Gottfried provides answers to some noteworthy questions such as why the disease spread as it did and how societies reacted to the pandemic and where it came from. He uses extensive quotes from reliable sources to support his analysis, and he gives a breakdown of the long-term effects that the outbreak had on medieval societies. I found this book to be very informative and easy to digest. I found Gottfried’s writing to be very well researched, clear, and concise.
A career in occupational therapy is challenging, yet rewarding. Someone who is a people person would enjoy the constant interaction with clients and families. After studying this career, it is extremely apparent that all occupational therapists have one thing in common; a love for people and healing.
Boren, Lynda S., and Sara DeSaussure Davis, eds. Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1999. Print.
College athletes are not forced into playing the sport that they have devoted their time to during their years in secondary education. They continue to play into the college level for their love of the game. And for this, many college athletes are offered full scholarships. Today’s tuition for many schools are so expensive that without the scholarships that some of the students receive, they would not be able to attend college at all. For these students, college sports offer a great avenue to obtain an education that otherwise would not have been available for them. This allows them opportunity to study something that they can use to build a better life for themselves and their families.
In her narrative, "The Storm", author Kate Chopin utilizes the setting of the story to create a parallel between the titular storm and a passionate affair between two lovers. In the beginning of the story, the storm begins to surge when Calixta, a married wife and mother, sees her former aquaintance, Alcée start towards her house. Chopin uses this scene to depict the storm as both a literary concept in the story and a symbol for the impending affair between the two. Later, as Calixta is looking out the window, a violent flash of lightning sends her aback into Alcée's arms. In this case, Chopin uses the lightning to symbolize the "bolt" of passion that leads to the affair. Alcée, trying to comfort Clalixta, says "Don't be frightened. Nothing
Personally, I have had deep thoughts of whether to play a college sport. I remembered specific times this last summer conversing with my parents about it. To tell you the truth, I’m playing college golf as a test in a way. In talking with my father, he would always tell me to try, or else you will never know what is in store for you. Transferring was a main topic, “If you don’t like it, transfer. It happens for a lot of kids, so don’t feel like it is a big issue,” he would say. As I was making the decision of what college I would attend, I thought why do people go to
Chopin, fatherless at four, was certainly a product of her Creole heritage, and was strongly influenced by her mother and her maternal grandmother. Perhaps it is because she grew up in a female dominated environment that she was not a stereotypical product of her times and so could not conform to socially acceptable themes in her writing. Chopin even went so far as to assume the managerial role of her husband's business after he died in 1883. This behavior, in addition to her fascination with scientific principles, her upbringing, and her penchant for feminist characters would seem to indicate that individuality, freedom, and joy were as important to Chopin as they are to the characters in her stories. Yet it appears to be as difficult for critics to agree on Chopin's view of her own life as it is for them to accept the heroines of her stories. Per Seyersted believes that Chopin enjoyed living alone as an independent writer, but other critics have argued that Chopin was happily married and bore little resemblance to the characters in her stories (150-164).
Marriage oppressed her, she needed freedom, freedom to grow and do what she wanted to do, and marriage took that away from here. Chopin didn't believe that one person should take away another's freedom.
In the NCAA’s article “The Value of College Sports”, it states “Overall. NCAA student athletes have graduate at rates higher than college students in general. Nearly 13,000 student athletes have returned to campuses to complete their degrees in the past decade after finishing their athletics eligibility” (NCAA). This statistic goes to show the emphasis that student athletes put on academics. It also shows the success academically that student athletes have. These student athletes are just as focused on academics, if not more, than they are with sports. They understand they are students first and athletes second. Another statistic from the NCAA’s article shows “More than 150,000 college athletes receive $2.7 billion in athletics scholarships each year from NCAA member colleges and universities” (NCAA). This large number of student athletes receiving scholarships includes many people that wouldn’t be able to attend college if it weren’t for these athletics scholarships. They allow for people who regularly wouldn’t be able to get financial help on grades alone to have some assistance paying for college. Academics are not something that is forgotten by these student athletes, as they often find success in the classroom as well as the playing
Kate Chopin was born Kate O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850 to secure and socially prominent parent, Eliza O'Flaherty, of French-Creole descent, and Thomas O'Flaherty, an Irish immigrant and successful commission merchant. Kate attended the St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart from 1855 until she graduated on 1868. In 1855, her father was died in a railroad accident. She lived at home with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, all of them were widows. Her great-grandmother, Victoria Verdon oversaw her education and taught her French, music, and the gossip on St. Louis women of the past. Kate O'Flaherty grew up surrounded by smart, independent, single women. Victoria's own mother had been the first woman in St. Louis to obtain legal separation from her husband. She was influenced by her upbringing among these women. This showed up later in her fiction. For example, in her first short story “Wiser than a god” she characterized a strong and independent woman. This woman had an exceptional musical talent. She preferre...
... This woman suffers a tremendous amount from the commitment of her marriage, and the death of her husband does not affect her for long. A marriage such as this seems so unbelievable, yet a reader can see the realistic elements incorporated into the story. This begs the question of how undesirable marriage was during Chopin’s life. The unhappiness felt by Mrs. Mallard seems to be very extreme, but Chopin creates a beautiful story that reflects upon the idea of marriage as an undesired relationship and bond to some women in the nineteenth century.
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. “Kate Chopin.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, Sep2013. Academic Research Database. 1 Nov. 2013