The Unconventional Kate Chopin Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The Unconventional Kate Chopin Kate Chopin, a female author in the Victorian Era, wrote a large number of short stories and poems. She is most historied for her controversial novel The Awakening in which the main character struggles between societys obligations and her own desires. At the time The Awakening was published, Chopin had written more than one c short stories, many of which had appeared in magazines such as Vogue. She was something of a literary lioness in St. Louis and had numerous intellectual admirers. Within weeks after publication of The Awakening, this social ornament that had appeared so serenely comfortable became anything but serene and anything but comfortable. Of all things, death led Kate Chopin to write. The death of her brformer(a), her beloved grandmother, her husband, and lastly, her mother left her with an overwhelming mourning and six children to raise, prompting her move to write. With such earnest promptings, Chopin took u p writing at age thirty-eight. The publication of the love poem If It Might Be in January 1889 marked Chopins first appearance in print. Many of Kate Chopins writings wave a backward glance to her childhood. Kates grandmother, Madame Charleville, spent much time vocalizing Kate stories that stirred her interest about peoples lives, minds, and morals. Madame Charlevilles favorite saying was, One may know a great deal about people without judging them. matinee idol does that (Oscar 17). Young Kate must have paid a great deal of attention. Three decades later, when she came to do her own storytelling, she would continue to leave judgment entirely to God. Kate Chopins first novel, At Fault, also refers to sentimen... ...m Blake, Chopin was interested in innocence and experience, and both of these themes run within The Awakening. It was this book, though after her death, that made her loved. Kate Chopin died in August of 1904 of a cerebral hemo rrhage. She was an incredibly talented writer. She wrote about real issues and real feelings. Light and shadow play in her fiction. Moods come and go, representing the diverse events Chopin experienced. Unfortunately, like many other authors, Kate Chopin was never recognized for these incredible talents until it was far too late. Work CitedBloom, Harold. Modern Views On Kate Chopin. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 125-133.Oscar, Steven. Kate Chopin A Re-Awakening. New York Rosen Publishers, 1992. 17-24.Thornton, Lawrence. Kate Chopin. The Scribner Writers Series.CD-ROM, 2001 1-9