Kate Chopin's Controversial Views
"Too strong a drink for moral babies, and should be labeled 'poison'." was the how the Republic described Kate Chopin's most famous novel The Awakening (Seyersted 174). This was the not only the view of one magazine, but it summarized the feelings of society as a whole. Chopin woke up people to the feelings and minds of women. Even though her ideas were controversial at first, slowly over the decades people began to accept them.Kate O'Flaherty Chopin was raised in St. Louis in the 1850's and 1860's. Chopin had a close relationship with her French grandmother which lead to her appreciation of French writers. When she was only five Chopin's father, Thomas O'Flaherty died leaving her without a father figure. Eliza O'Flaherty, Chopin's mother, was from there on the head of the household. Chopin grew up knowing that women could be strong and intelligent and that they did not have to be submissive creatures (Skaggs 2). She loved her mother and considered her "A woman of great beauty, intelligence, and personal magnetism" (Seyersted 14). Growing up around independent women, however, did not dissuade her from marriage. Her marriage to Oscar Chopin by all accounts was a happy one. Taking on the
At the time of The Awakening's publishing, society was very different than it is today. Victorian women had no right to vote and had little independence. Women were expected to accept their position at home and be satisfied with it. The public understanding was that "A woman's personal life centers around home, husband, and children." (Nickerson 1). The Awakening challenged this notion and critics were outraged by it. "An isolated world-weary and misanthropic hero who revels in his own sensuality; who trusts in nature and distrusts human relationships, especially love; who experiences a sense of liberation through solitary walks and confidences in his writing... and who is strongly drawn to death as a solution to the repetitive meaninglessness of life's pleasures. (Taylor 160) Nickerson, Meagan. "Romanticism in The Awakening", The Kate Chopin Project. America On-line. February 1997.Bloom, Harold. Kate Chopin. New York : Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1985.Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race, and Region in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnerys Stuart and Kate Chopin. Baton RougeOscar Chopin died while their youngest child, Lelia was only three. Soon after Chopin moved her family to St. Louis to be with her dying mother. In the grief of her losses Chopin had to rediscover who she was. This challenge came out in her writing of heroines searching for self-understanding (Skaggs 3). No longer Eliza O'Flaherty's daughter or Oscar Chopin's wife, Kate Chopin was forced to find a new role for herself. Her new role would be a writer. Critics of the time were brutal in telling the world exactly what they thought of Chopin's controversial characters. In 1899 a reviewer for Public Opinion said he was "well satisfied with Edna's suicide because she deserved to die for her immoral behavior" (Delaney 43). No one told of the affairs some women had then. Deyo expressed why this was, " A fact ... which we have all agreed shall not be acknowledged is as good as no fact at all. And it is disturbing - even indelicate- to mention it as something which, perhaps, does play an important part in the life behind the mask" (Seyersted 175). Even Chopin herself did not pity Edna, instead taking a detached view of the story. It has been suggested by Bloom that Chopin gives her sentiments through Edna's doctor: " Nature takes no account of moral consequences, of arbitrary conditions which we create, and which we feel obligated to maintain at any cost." (Bloom 23). suppresses her and Edna again feels miserable. Robert returns and promises to wait for her to leave Alcee. He, however; changes his mind and mysteriously vanishes leaving a note saying; "Good-by
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1843
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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