Kate Chopin Women's Rights Essay

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In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour,” Mrs. Mallard, burdened with “heart problems,” grieves deeply after hearing of her husband’s death in a railroad disaster. After receiving time to herself, Mrs. Mallard recognizes now that since her husband is dead, she would finally be “Free, free, free!” (Chopin 180) Soon after daydreaming of her new found freedom, Mrs. Mallard perishes at the sight of her living husband. Without a doubt, Mrs. Mallard was emotionally and physically drained by her repressive marriage. During a time when women had limited abilities due to their sex, authors like Kate Chopin influenced many women to stand up and cry out for their freedom. This movement for women’s rights heightened in the late 19th century, around the same time “The Story of An Hour” was published. Story after story, Chopin relates her characters trials to current issues and explains her own desire to escape from gender roles and …show more content…

Louis-born Kate Chopin was mentored primarily by women after her father’s death in a train accident. Women including her mother, grandmother, and great- grandmother. While attending The Academy of The Sacred Heart, a Catholic school focused on teaching independent thinking and bringing up great wives and mothers, Chopin was also guided by nuns. As a result of her female-centered upbringing, it is clear that these women influenced many of her writings. From an early age, Chopin was taught to think independently, but also to be submissive to men (Tolintino, Jasdomin). Considering her female-centered life, one can imagine Chopin’s lack of traditional conformity of submitting to men. Although, Chopin recognized that she would one day become a housewife. Being as Chopin only saw women in an authoritative position, surrendering to a man seemed foreign. After all, even with teachings of becoming a good wife and mother, Chopin was raised to have a voice for herself. Despite her independence, Chopin had a successful and happy

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