Kate Chopin: Literature and Life - Essay Example

Kate Chopin Who is Kate Chopin in American literature? Kate Chopin is a renowned artist due to her focus on discrimination and women. As a talented writer, Chopin has written about the real feelings of women by basing on her own life experiences. In her writings, she wrote about the feelings which men cannot decipher. In addition, she has been recognized for her support to women in their fight for their rights with other vital issues such as inferiority and how women were valued and looked at in society. She did not care about the views of other literary writers but she composed her writings from her feelings. She described several feelings deeply such as nervousness, depression, and stress. In 1898, Chopin submitted “The awakening” which was her work that had been compiled in half a year. This showed how Chopin concentrated on novel. Later Chopin wrote “The storm” which was a brief story that analyzed her attitude on accepted moral ideas. She had been quite daring in the tale thus she never bothered to publish it. The tale featured stories such as “The cadian ball” (Toth 38). Sequel has five distinct sections. In the story, “Now-well, now-her lips seemed in a manner free to be tasted, as well as her round, white throat and her whiter breasts”, has been alluded to show the kind of ideas that she had brought out. This might have been some of the reasons why this story was never published. Most of stories by Chopin start with a tragic event. For instance, in “The story of an hour”, the death of Brently Mallard is a railroad disaster. This is just mentioned when the story begins. The cause of Mallard’s death can be compared to the childhood of Chopin. However, some critics disagree with this assertion. They link the death to the various constrains which Chopin undergoes in her marriage. This arises due to unhappy and loveless marriage. There is live language which has been developed when Mrs. Mallard sits alone upstairs and the way Chopin brings out her ideas is quite colorful. Language in this text reveals the wild spirit which dwells within while the death of her husband releases unruliness that is within. In her childhood, Chopin had several tragedies, for instance, her father; Thomas O’Flaherty was killed in a railroad disaster when she was only five years (Owell 67). Therefore, some of these events may have influenced the story of an hour. In most of Chopin’s work, the main theme is female sexuality. For her time, Chopin tends to be liberal. Thus, it is more interesting as she takes this conservative stance especially on motherhood as they are not the actual opposite sides of a coin. This is really opposite in “The awakening” where Athenaise concludes with a woman and an intact family after returning to the husband from taste of freedom. Chopin does not actually have a conservative view point about pregnancy. The announcement of Athenaise is due to pregnancy. In her life, she had a passionate and a spirited mother. Therefore, if Athenaise is modeled due to the influence of the mother, then she claims that she did not participate in her mother’s transition. After her marriage to Oscar, Chopin compares and contrasts her transition with that of Athenaise. She thus comments on her mother’s marriage which was not guided by love but it was just an arrangement. Chopin waited eagerly for the release of “The awakening”. During this time she did not write any prose. She gave herself a break to allow chose more subject matter after the recess. During this interlude, she wrote several verses which reflected the carefree attitude towards her sexual urges as demonstrated in the, “The Storm”. For instance, in the poem, “By the meadow Gate” it deals with one girl who is asleep and dreaming. “In the long, cool grass/the birds call/awake/a glow in his soul and a flame in his eyes/follows a voice that is never still”. Furthermore, she states that, “the voice and the dream are near-so near” yet the young man doesn’t listen to her voice, “the dream of the maiden will never come true” (Owell 89). There in, this might be just be the time spent by Chopin during the interlude. Furthermore, during the interlude, she posits the poems that address to a lost lover who actually seems to be in this sphere. Chopin in, “An Ecstasy of Madness” would like to fly to the top of the hill and then dance around Maypole. The appeal seems to be applicable to a living person than a distant star. “There’s an ecstasy of madness/where the march hares dwell/a delirium of gladness/too wild to tell”. In 1899, after the approval of “the awakening”, Chopin expressed her experiences in the poem. She described form of fate which is compared to that of Edna. She therefore abbreviated her experience in the poem. “Of course ‘twas an excellent story to tell/of a fair, frail, passionate women who fell” (Toth 123). In addition, Chopin, commented on manuscript of one poem that, “This is not dedicated to you or to anybody”. This implies that Chopin was aware that most of her “I” poems were interpreted as a self revelation. She is personal when she deals with the main themes in her poems. That is, longing for lost companion and awakening urges of the spring. In the poems, Chopin shows her true feelings but she is defeated by the stale of language and monotony of form. For instance, in “In dreams throughout the night”, she has failed to show regular rhyming. Later after gaining confidence in her work, she fused all the artistic elements into the poem, “if some day” (Seyersted 71). Despite little proof outlined, the poem “the haunted chamber” is a representation of Chopin struggling to remove herself out of the unconscious involvement with the character Edna Pontellier. More so, the tone in this poem suggest that it is genuine for the author on unconscious level tried to identify herself with the struggles of Edna and her own torment. It is very clear that Edna is the extension of Chopin’s assertive heroines. This is depicted in Ratignolle who forms the author’s juxtaposition of feminine woman who she had been anticipating. In her work, it is clear that Chopin loved her husband very much. She fully accepted her husband but she had some urges that were secretive and emancipator. This could have developed her authorship had the environment changed because it originated from herself. She felt hemmed by marriage which made her develop internal discussions. This is one of the reasons why she persistently opposes women who strike out and those who remain at home in most of her written works. She therefore advocates for a no best way to try and live for a female. Furthermore, this best explains why works by Chopin welcomes both men and sexuality but manages to demonstrate the questioning attitude in marriage institutions. Works cited Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. New York: Roundhouse Publishing, 1999. Print. Ewell, Barbara. Kate Chopin (Literature and Life). Boston: Ungar Publishers Company, 1986. Print. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. New York: Louisiana State University Press, 1980. Print. Read More