Bibliography

Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin, born Katherine O'Flaherty (February 8, 1850 August 22, 1904), was a
U.S. author of short stories and novels. She is now considered by some to have been a
forerunner of the feminist authors of the 20th century of Southern and/or Catholic
background, such as Zelda Fitzgerald.

From 1892 to 1895, she wrote short stories for both children and adults which were
published in such magazines as Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, The Century Magazine, and
The Youth's Companion. Her major works were two short story collections, Bayou Folk
(1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897). Her important short stories included "Dsires
Baby," a tale of miscegenation in antebellum Louisiana (published in 1893), "The Story
of an Hour" (1894),[ and "The Storm"(1898). "The Storm" is a sequel to "The 'Cadian
Ball," which appeared in her first collection of short stories, Bayou Folk Chopin also
wrote two novels: At Fault (1890) and The Awakening (1899), which are set in New
Orleans and Grand Isle, respectively. The people in her stories are usually inhabitants of
Louisiana. Many of her works are set in Natchitoches in north central Louisiana.

Within a decade of her death, Chopin was widely recognized as one of the leading
writers of her time. In 1915, Fred Lewis Pattee wrote, "some of [Chopin's] work is equal
to the best that has been produced in France or even in America. [She displayed] what
may be described as a native aptitude for narration amounting almost to genius."
Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri. There is some controversy
about her birthdate. It has been recorded as February 8, 1851 but the author has stated
she was born in 1850. Her father, Thomas O'Flaherty, was a successful businessman
who had emigrated from Galway, Ireland. Her mother, Eliza Faris, was a well-connected
member of the French community in St. Louis. Her maternal grandmother, Athnase
Charleville, was of French Canadian descent. Some of her ancestors were among the
first European inhabitants of Dauphin Island, Alabama. She was the third of five
children, but her sisters died in infancy and her brothers (from her father's first marriage)
died in their early twenties. She was thus the only child to live past the age of twenty-
five. After her father's death in 1855, Chopin developed a close relationship with her
mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She also became an avid reader of fairy
tales, poetry, and religious allegories, as well as classic and contemporary novels.

In 1870, at the age of 20, she married Oscar Chopin and settled in New Orleans.
Chopin had all six of her children by 28. In 1879, Oscar Chopin's cotton brokerage
failed, and the family moved to Cloutierville in south Natchitoches Parish to manage
several small plantations and a general store. They became active in the community,
and Chopin absorbed much material for her future writing, especially regarding the
Creole culture of the area. Their home at 243 Highway 495 (built by Alexis Cloutier in
the early part of the century) was a national historic landmark and the home of the
Bayou Folk Museum. On October 1, 2008, the house was destroyed by a fire, with little
left but the chimney.

When Oscar Chopin died in 1882 (like his half-brother two decades earlier), he left Kate
with $12,000 in debt (approximately $250,000 in 2009 money). According to Emily Toth,
"for a while the widow Kate ran his [Oscar's] business and flirted outrageously with local
men; (she even engaged in a relationship with a married farmer)."
Although Chopin made an honest effort to keep her late husband's plantation and
general store alive, two years later she sold her Louisiana business. Her mother
implored her to move back to St. Louis, so Chopin did, and the children gradually settled
into life in St. Louis, where finances were no longer a concern. The following year,
Chopin's mother died. Chopin now found herself in a state of depression after the loss
of both her husband and her mother. Her obstetrician and family friend, Dr. Frederick
Kolbenheyer, felt that writing would be a source of therapeutic healing for Kate during
her hard times. He understood that writing could be a focus for her extraordinary
energy, as well as a source of income.
By the early 1890s, Kate Chopin was writing short stories, articles, and translations
which appeared in periodicals, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was quite
successful and placed many of her publications in literary magazines. However, she
became known only as a regional local color writer and her literary qualities were
overlooked. In 1899, her second novel, The Awakening, was published, and garnered a
significant amount of negative press because it promoted values that conflicted with
standards of acceptable ladylike behavior. Some of the most frequently referenced
offensive ideas were those regarding female sexuality, motherhood, and marital
infidelity. Although the novel received much negative press, some newspapers regarded
it favorably. This, her best-known work, is the story of a woman trapped in the confines
of an oppressive society. Out of print for several decades, it is now widely available and
critically acclaimed for its writing quality and importance as an early feminist work in the
South.
Some of her writings, such as The Awakening, were too far ahead of their time and
therefore not socially embraced. After almost 12 years in the public eye of the literary
world and shattered by the lack of acceptance, Chopin, deeply discouraged by the
criticism, turned to short story writing.[citation needed] In 1900, she wrote "The
Gentleman from New Orleans", and that same year she was listed in the first edition of
Marquis Who's Who. However, she never made much money from her writing, and
depended on her investments in Louisiana and St. Louis to sustain her. Kate Chopin's
grave in Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri,while visiting the St. Louis World's Fair
on August 20, 1904, Chopin suffered a brain hemorrhage and died two days later, at the
age of 54. She was interred in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.
 Summary

Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition, which means that if she's startled she could die. So,
when news comes that her husband's been killed in an accident, the people who tell her
have to cushion the blow.
Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine sits down with her and dances around the truth until
Mrs. Mallard finally understands what happened. The deceased Mr. Mallard's friend,
Richards, hangs out with them for moral support.
Richards originally found out because he had been in the newspaper headquarters
when a report of the accident that killed Mr. Mallard, which happened on a train, came
through. Richards waited for proof from a second source before going to the Mallards' to
share the news.
When Mrs. Mallard finds out what happened she acts differently from most women in
the same position, who might disbelieve it. She cries passionately before deciding to go
to her room to be by herself.
In her room, Mrs. Mallard sits down on a comfy chair and feels completely depleted.
She looks out the window and looks out at a world that seems alive and fresh. She can
see the sky coming between the rain clouds.
Mrs. Mallard sits still, occasionally crying briefly like a kid might.
The narrator describes her as youthful and pretty, but because of this news she looks
preoccupied and absent.
She seems to be holding out for some kind of unknown news or knowledge, which she
can tell is approaching.
Mrs. Mallard breathes heavily and tries to resist before succumbing to this unknown
thing, which is a feeling of freedom.
Acknowledging freedom makes her revive, and she doesn't consider whether she
should feel bad about it.
Mrs. Mallard thinks to herself about how she'll cry when she sees her husband's dead
body and how much he loved her. Even so, she's kind of excited about the chance to
make her own decisions and not feel accountable to anyone.
Mrs. Mallard feels even more swept up by the idea of freedom than the fact that she
had felt love for her husband. She focuses on how liberated she feels.
Outside the locked door to the room, her sister Josephine is pleading to her to open up
and let her in.
Mrs. Mallard tells her to go away and fantasizes about the exciting life ahead.
Finally, she goes to her sister and they go downstairs.
Suddenly, the door opens and Mr. Mallard comes in. He's not dead and doesn't even
know anyone thought he was.
Even though Richards and Josephine try to protect Mrs. Mallard from the sight, they
can't. She receives the shock they tried to prevent at the beginning of the story.
Later, the medical people who examine her say that she was full of so much happiness
that it murdered her.