The Life of Kate Chopin - Essay Example

Order 412812 Topic: Research paper–Kate Chopin How life is to be lived in its trials, tribulations, duty and beauty-ask Kate Chopin (1850-1904)! William Shakespeare writes, “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon em." (Twelfth Night (II, v, 156-159) Kate belongs to the second category. Her experiences at every stage of life were cynical. Yet she made a fight out of them, and drew her best energies in the critical situations. In the circumstances she was brought up, she realized the practical value of the sacrifices of female members of her family to shape her life. Most of them lived in difficult conditions and sacrificed their lives for others. Their life was tempered with the values of socio-spiritual values. Sacrifice is a great virtue of humankind. Firstly, there should be cause for the sacrifice; secondly there should be the heart fort the sacrifice; thirdly there should be the will, the grit and the stamina to do the sacrifice; and finally one must accept the rewards and punishments of the sacrifice with a balanced mental attitudes-- again ask Kate for the veracity and truthfulness of this statement. Her viewpoint is why women only are asked to do sacrifice? In the hectic pace of activities of her personal life how Kate Chopin was able to fight for the cause of women through her powerful literary creations? “Kate Chopin was born on February 8, 1850. She was blessed by having many female mentors throughout her childhood; either the strong and independent widows in her family or the intellectual nuns of her school, who taught Kate to live a "life of the mind as well as the life of the home."(Search....)She was admitted to the Academy of the Sacred Heart at the young age of five and a half. Her father Thomas OFlaherty was a successful businessman. Her stint at the Sacred Heart lasted for just for two months. She came home and her great-grandmother became her teacher. Eliza Faris OFlaherty, Kates mother,was just 27 when her 50 year old husband died. Eliza did not remarry after her husbands death. Kates grandmother Madame Charleville mothered fifteen children. Her husband, Joseph Charleville was a merchant. Apart from teaching music, history and French, she taught Kate the true perspectives of life, to live clearly and fearlessly. By the time Kate was 24, she was witness to many family tragedies, her half brother George died of typhoid fever,her grandmother passed away, lost all sisters and brothers and she was the only survivor. Such grim experiences one after another, would make anyone cyclical. Kate suffered from depression. One of the nuns of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, spotted the literary talent of the lonely girl. She assigned her the duty to write Commonplace Book, which turned out to be the diary of her social and intellectual m life. Kate Chopins married life: When she married Louisiana native Oscar Chopin, a cotton broker, she was 19. That was on June 9, 1870.She kept a record of her 3-month European honeymoon in her Commonplace Book. They settled in their new home in New Orleans. Oscars brokerage business failed and they moved to familys plantations in Natchitoches Parish. Her husband died in 1883 due to swamp fever-related complications. In 1883 Kate returned to St. Louis with her six children. After one year, when her mother died, Kate was emotionally shattered. The family physician, Frederick Kolbenheyer, spotted the latent literary genius in her and encouraged her to write. This, he suggested, would provide an outlet to express her anger and disappointment with life. The flourish with writing continued, but the monetary returns out of them were not adequate to support the family. But she had income from real estate she owned in Louisiana and St. Louis. Kate Chopin as a writer... Her writings continued unabated and her novel “The Awakening” met with the critical disapproval. The net of her social life widened. For about a decade she was a writer of national fame. She was a member of women groups, joined the St. Louis Children of Sodality, member of the Wednesday Club etc. On August 22, 1904, she met the date with her destiny. She spent a long day at the St. Louis Worlds Fair and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on 20th August. She was buried on the 24th of August 1904.Thus the story of her life came to an end. Some of her immortal stories are: Desirees baby "Desirees Baby" is a story of heartbreak closely intertwined with ethnicity. In this story, young Armand Aubigny, a wealthy plantation owner, sees and falls in love with Desiree, a young woman of unknown parentage. They are married and have a child, but when the child reaches the age of three months, his complexion changes and he begins to appear as what he is - partially black.”(Perceived....) Her husbands condemnation and telling her that it is because of her, and that it is her fault, because she is not white, was too much for her to bear. “Desirees Baby” published in Vogue magazine non January 4, 1893 turned out to be her most famous story. It was included in a book of short story collection, the next year. The culminating point of the story is Desiree disappearing into the bayou with her baby. The turning in the story is, after she leaves, her husband happens to discover a letter left to him by his mother that indicates that it is he who is of mixed race. This story was included in Bayou Folk, published in 1894. The story of an hour: Kate self-published some of her writings in the initial phase of her writing career. Often her stories found the rejection slips by the magazine publishers as they felt that her writings contained explicit reference to love, sex and marriage. “The Story of an hour” is one such story. It relates to the subject—an ill womans reaction to the accidental death of her husband. Her turmoil about the unexpected independence-- but it comes to a quick end when she discovers that her husband is actually alive. The rejections by the publishers did not bother Kate much, and she continued to write. Rather, such rejections created the appropriate frame of mind to write some of her masterpieces! This story later appeared in The Vogue. The Awakening: Her famous story “The Awakening” was subsequently published in 1899. Vehement protests followed for its sexual openness in writings. It took six long decades for the story to be rediscovered again in the 1950s and the changing times, brought changed perception in the literary circles. The story has been highly appreciated for beauty of its writing and for its modern sensibility. “Throughout her life, Kate Chopin,.... actively searched for female spiritual emancipation, which she found and expressed in her writing. Her poems, short stories, and novels allowed her not only to assert her beliefs for herself, but also to question the ideas of individuality and autonomy during the turn of the century.” (Kate Chopin....) The critics reacted to the story by calling it morbid, vulgar, and disagreeable. The Storm. The short story “The Storm” is storm in the true sense of the term. Kate expresses her strongest views how marriage can be a devastating factor to a woman both sexually and spiritually. For her views, she had to be criticized during her times, because she was speaking for the next century. She tried to kindle awakening in both men and women and pleaded for open mindedness as for issues related to women. She did not plead for any concession by the menfolk-it was her birthright! “In The Storm, the character of Calixta is unable to fulfill societys standards of virtue, despite her perceived purity by her lover Alcee....Like a storm, Calixta began as quiet, calm and nonthreatening to man. But as her passion began to brew, she became electric and powerful; a force driven by nature, as inept at controlling her own desires as a storm is at controlling the damage it leaves in its path.”(Criticism....) Kate Chopins themes: Any story will always tell something about the author. Personal reflections and convictions developed due to the impact of life-experiences can not be avoided but an author, howsoever intelligently one may try to sweep them under the carpet!--But why should one? Kate was a unique feminist writer. The objective of most of the feminist writers is to drive home points relating to improvement of the social conditions for women. As for Kate, personal freedom of women was more important. That resulted in her questioning the conventional demands of both men and women in the society. She expected the women to have and develop high-pitched ambitions transcending the borders of normal freedom. She demanded intellectual autonomy and women having political opinions to be taken seriously. That was the demand of the 19th century woman! She wished women to live the life of their choices, both mentally and physically- not submit to the dictates of the society. She was not willing to conform to tradition for the sake of tradition, but accepted the good points in it. That she began her professional writing career in the later part of her life, and the experience thus gained, stands reflected strongly in the stories and reveals the unique insight. The old-world charm and values Kate inherited from her grandmother like women in eternal struggle with morality, convention, freedom and desire finds reflection in her stories. But she doesnt stop there and offers something more for women. The impact of the Civil War during her teens, with her family siding with the South, and home-town St. Louis supporting the North created deep impact on her psyche. The loss of the beloved ones, the separation of the friends, the fragile peace in the country, taught her valuable lessons about life. Her themes in short stories are daring and have an element of novelty in them. Works Cited: Criticism of The Storm by Kate Chopin Retrieved on March 5, 2010. Kate Chopin: In Search of Freedom Throughout her life, Kate Chopin, author of "The Awakening"... Retrieved on March 5, 2010. Perceived racial status in Desirees Baby, by Kate Chopin - by ... Kate Chopins story, "Desirees Baby" (1892) is a sad, tragic ironic... -Retrieved on March 5,2010 Search ResultsKate Chopin This Commonplace Book became a diary of her intellectual and social life.... Similar Retrieved on March 5, 2010 Read More