Kate Chopin And The Awakening

There was a time when women had no choice other than to get married in order to live a proper life. The conventional role of a simple housewife was more common than not in the late 1800’s. Some women were okay with that role. Other women felt more restricted, wishing for more freedom to do as they pleased. To let their thoughts be heard, a number of women in the late 19th century, early 20th century, showcased feminism and the injustices woman felt through literature. One of the first women to write openingly about these injustices is Kate Chopin. Kate Chopin, through both her literary works and her real life experiences, showcased the opposition numerous women faced.
Mrs. Louise Mallard from The Story of an Hour and Mrs. Pontellier from The Awakening both share many common issues. With both stories having aspects of realism, Chopin shows the representation of women

living within a specific time period. The stories took place in the late 1800’s. Both woman felt unhappy in their marriage, and they wished to be emotionally and psychologically free. The stories both ended on a low note with the women's deaths. Louise Mallard felt the optimism of a free future when she heard her husband died. Those thoughts were short lived, though, when her husband arrived back home safe. Mallard's feelings of hope were crushed; she ironically died immediately seeing her husband after due to heart problems. On the other hand, Pontellier’s wasn’t as sudden as Mallard’s. Pontellier ended up committing suicide after developing an immense feeling of solitude. Pontellier felt like no one could understand her feelings, and she could not fully feel free from the limitations of society.
Kate Chopin's real life experiences were incorporated in many of her works.

Many close people in Chopin’s life died in her early life. Her father, half brother, and her husband died in Kate’s early life. She was the only one of her siblings that lived past twenty five. As a child, Kate was looked after by the women in her life. Her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother taught her, all of them widows. Kate’s husband, Oscar, unexpectedly ended up dying from a fever. Kate ended up becoming a widow at the young age of 30. After her mother died, Chopin became depressed. She then began to write. She wrote in reflection of her own life. ”The Story of an Hour” is said to reflect the life of Kate’s mother. Kate’s mother, Eliza O'Flaherty, became a wife through an arranged marriage. Like the character Mrs. Mallard, Eliza lived only for her husband. Eliza’s husband actually died from a train accident. Like Mrs. Mallard, Eliza most likely enjoyed the thoughts of being free. In The Awakening, the main character had an affair with another man, just as Kate Chopin did after her husband

died.
Although Kate Chopin is widely popular today, she was not so highly commended when her works were first published. Many of Chopin’s short stories were popular in her time; some of the got published in popular magazines. When The Awakening was published, Chopin received backlash. Many people of that time found the story to be unconventional and morbid; the story was condemned by many critics. The thought that women are to serve their husbands was still the norm. After The Awakening was published, Kate wrote fewer stories, and only a few of them got published. . It was until about fifty years later when people began to praise Kate’s story.
Kate Chopin was one of the first women who wrote for herself. Fighting against tradition, she used her writing skills to show her rebellion on the rules of society. Despite criticism, Kate showed others the truth about life through a woman's eyes.