In the context of a tumultuous time for the United States that was undergoing drastic changes socially, politically and ideologically, Kate Chopin published her first novel At Fault in 1890. Probably not aware of her role as one of the forerunners of the feminist movement in the late nineteenth century, Chopin embarked on expressing what women do feel, experience and suffer in their everyday lives. The first seeds of feminism, effectively, started essentially with the emergence of a group of women writers in England as well as in the United States who dared to speak about women from the standpoint of women and targeting a female audience. In spite of the fact that women had been taught to keep quiet, repress their voices and “internalize the codes of genteel womanhood” (Showalter 177), women writers during the nineteenth century attempted to reconstruct themselves as free individuals and refashion the image of the ideal woman. This was possible through writing that enabled them to “break new ground[s] and create new possibilities” (Showalter 19). G.H Lewes defines “female literature” as the articulation of women’s experience which “guides itself by its own impulses to autonomous self-expression” (qtd. in Showalter 13). Following women’s awareness of the unequal treatment they receive from men, their
Literature at Chopin’s age reflected a predominantly masculine ideology that used to ban women from this realm due to their presumed inferiority. Even if women were allowed to write, their writing should abide by the religious and moral conservatism of the era. To put it differently, women’s writings were deemed valuable only if proved appropriate for the adamant moral and religious
During the nineteenth century, Chopin’s era, women were not allowed to vote, attend school or even hold some jobs. A woman’s role was to get married, have children
Like in many feministic works, that struggle constantly to point out the corruptions of a patriarchal society, which subordinates women to men and subconsciously make them accept their inferior position without defending, their opinions, their interests and themselves, Kate Chopin in her short story “The Storm”, does something completely different of what was consider as acceptable in the 18th century´s literature. She creates the character of a woman who breaks the socially accepted conception of how a woman should be and act in a relationship, or in this case in a marriage, to express her sexuality. In this society women were put in an inferior position and were deprived of many privileges and rights given to men, especially in the sexual aspect; but Chopin, with her viewpoints, went ah...
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
In our history, women have always been inferior to men. The role they have in society, at this time, is to care for the family and household while the male earns the income. As a result of this, women begin to fight for their rights in what we call the feminist movement. This movement is also relevant in the literature of the time. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman by the name of Hester Prynne is found guilty of adultery and is made to wear a scarlet letter on her breast as a sign of her sin. In "At the Cadian Ball" and "The Storm," Chopin shows a more modern age of feminism through the adulteress Calixta. Hawthorne and Chopin show how society and the feminist movement advance over time through their works.
According to Wolff, the true subject of Chopin’s novel, “may be less the particular dilemma of Mrs. Pontellier than the larger problems of female narrative that it reflects; and if Edna’s poignant fate is in part a reflection of her own habits, it is also, in equal part, a measure of society’s failure to allow its women a language of their own” (388).
In “The Story of An Hour” by Chopin, she illustrates the role of woman in marriage and in the society during her time. It demonstrates the issue of male dominance. There are some similarities and differences in the role of women in marriage and in the community in the 1940’s compared to the way women are treated today. And these are seen in the rights of women and in the responsibilities of family and marriage. We read “A Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin.
Kate Chopin wrote for a reason and with a sense of passion and desire. She lived the way she wanted to and wrote what she felt, thought, and wanted to say. Kate wrote for many years and her popularity was extreme until critical disapproval of her novel, The Awakening, a story that portrayed women’s desires of independence and control of their own sexuality. Most men condemned this story, while women applauded her for it. Kate wrote with a sense of realism and naturalism and she created a voice that is unique and unmatched. The voice gave a view of the female role in society and contributed to the beginning of the later feminist movements. In 1915, Fred Lewis Pattee wrote, "some of Chopin's work is equal to the best that has been produced in France or even in America. She displayed what may be described as a native aptitude for narration amounting almost to genius" (qtd. in Amazon.com “About the Author”). Kate Chopin was a 19th century American author who cared about women and their rights. She was a bold writer who had a huge impact on how the world should treat women.
The writings of Kate Chopin are a reflection of her upbringing and view of the world around her. Her experiences living in the South served as both a setting and character in her work. She used her writings to explore the position of women in society with emphasis of the effect of the institution of marriage. She wrote about female sexual identity and desire. Some of her stories were considered scandalous for the time period since they covered topics and subjects that were considered socially unacceptable. This paper will examine how these themes are used throughout Chopin’s short stories.
Kate Chopin and How the Feminist Movement Inspired Her Writings. Kate Chopin was an American author who wrote novels as well as short stories. Her work was extraordinary and some of her greatest work was based on the feminist movement. Kate Chopin became known throughout the world as one of the most influential writers during the feminist movement. She has attracted great attention from scholars along with students, and her work has been translated into many different languages.
Elizabeth Fox Genovese of Emory University shared in a PBS interview that “She [Kate Chopin] was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the United States or, if you wish, the cutting edge of modernism in American literature” (PBS – Interviews). 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 Awakening, centered around upper-middle class Creole or French women involved in womanly uncertainties; such as, extramarital affairs, acceptable behavior in society for females, duties as a wife, responsibilities as a mother, and religious beliefs. Chopin was an extraordinary woman, and no indication was made, during the investigation of this research paper, reflecting her having regrets regarding her position as a wife or mother. This document is an attempt at comparing the issues the main characters experienced and presenting Chopin’s unique skill in writing about the culture she observed during her years of living in Louisiana. The tragedy of this author’s existence is that during her life the literary world did not recognize such exceptional skill.
In the short stories, “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour”, the author Kate Chopin compares the struggles women of different social classes have with conforming to constraints of society in the late 19th century.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assigns gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically, Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolve around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom for women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dreams and impose their will on their wives (149).
Kenneth Eble states, “…She undertook to give the unsparing truth about women’s submerged life” (2). Speaking solely about Kate Chopin, this quote puts emphasis upon Chopin’s disputes with her society. She used her writing as a technique to indirectly explicate her life by the means of narrating her stories through the characters she created. Kate Chopin was one of the modern writers of her time, one who wrote novels concentrating on the common social matters related to women. Her time period consisted of other female authors that focused on the same central theme during the era: exposing the unfairness of the patriarchal society, and women’s search for selfhood, and their search for identity. In Chopin’s novel The Awakening, she incorporates the themes mentioned above to illustrate the veracity of life as she understood it. A literary work approached by the feminist critique seeks to raise awareness of the importance and higher qualities of women. Women in literature may uncover their strengths or find their independence, raising their own self recognition. Several critics deem Chopin as one of the leading feminists of her age because she was willing to publish stories that dealt with women becoming self-governing, who stood up for themselves and novels that explored the difficulties that they faced during the time. Chopin scrutinized sole problems and was not frightened to suggest that women desired something that they were not normally permitted to have: independence. Chopin’s decision to focus on and emphasize the imbalances between the sexes is heavily influenced by her upbringing, her feelings towards society, and the era she subsisted in.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting her husband’s sudden return she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. An analysis of “The Story if an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about women’s self-identity in the 1800s male-dominated society, and how it caused women’s lack of freedom.
The New Woman movement by Chopin fit into the ideals of the ever changing world of Modernism. Women noticed that in order to be recognized they needed to first remove themselves from male dominance. In order to engage this they began to take possession of their own bodies, instead of being sexual objects they changed it to being sexual subjects. Therefore they were in power of being active participants and agents of their own sexual desires, power, and pleasures of the world. Chopin wanted to create this world that woman had the same right and privileges as men. When Kate was writing, during that time women suffered from self-repression, low self-esteem, no individual identity and were living in oppression. At such a time when the opinion of