Author and Current event

"All-female Kenyan village houses abused women", is an article about a group of women who have united and built a village. This village is only made up of women who have been victims of male abuse including girls escaping from arrange marriages. They all contribute to cover the expenses of the village by selling handicrafts. The leaders of the camp focus on women empowerment, they even have their own school so they can learn to read and write. If Kate Chopin was to be alive today, she would respond to this event in a positive way. First, she would be disgusted at the fact that men till this day abuse women and them being forced to be with a man due to an arranged marriage. Overall she would be proud of these women for standing up for their rights. Chopin was a feminist, so knowing that women are becoming independent, educated, and have united among each other would satisfy her. Kate herself as well as the women of her family had to become independent of men in order to support their family. Chopin would also be able to relate to them, because the women in her house united and supported each other after their husbands’ deaths. In the situation the women from the village had to make handicrafts to sell so they could make money, and Chopin began to write. Both the women and Chopin had to develop a talent they already had to be able to support themselves. In conclusion Kate Chopin could relate to them in many ways; therefore, she would be right along with the women supporting them.


To read full article click http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/12/207262.html 

The Awakening

The Awakening

was the story that caused Kate Chopin the most controversy. After getting a lot of bad reviews and comments, this was the last novel Chopin wrote. The book was banned from many places including her hometown. So why did The Awakening cause a lot controversy?

We have to keep in mind that at the time the book was written when women did not have many rights, they were limited to what society allowed them. The Awakening is based on the on Edna Pontellier, an independent woman. Edna was married to a man who gave her a lot of freedom, and she also had two kids. The the marriage life that Edna had with her husband is very similar to Chopin's. Chopin's husband allowed her to do what she wanted and admired her. The story begins with them being on vacation in Grand Isle, this is where she begins to discover herself. At the resort there was a woman named Adele Ratignolle, Edna became friends with her. Ms. Ratignolle herself was singled out for not being married and not believing in society’s expectations. After Edna had a conversation with her, she began to question society. Robert was also of great contribution to her awakening. Edna became real close with Robert and she enjoyed spending time with him. Hanging out with him is what made her realized she was unhappy with her husband. In the time period she lived one would have expected her to forget those thoughts once she returned home; however, it was the complete opposite. When returning home Edna refused to return back to lifestyle she had. She enjoyed the freedom and woman she had discovered in Grand Isle, although at some level she was depress due to Robert leaving. Edna began to rebel, she started out with small things such as not being home on the day people visited their house. She didn’t even bother to send out apologies, she didn’t find it necessary to apologize for something she didn’t feel like doing. Her rebellion kept on reaching higher extremities, while Mr. Pontellier was out of town Edna moved out of her house leaving her children behind. She soon was capable of supporting herself without the need of a man. When Robert returned she would no longer retain herself from expressing her love, she ended up committing adultery. Although she enjoyed it, the happiness didn’t last. She had experience so much freedom and realize that she was not meant to be tied down a one man. Being attached to a man would eventually bored her and end up in the same situation. After realizing that she would never be truly satisfied she went to the ocean and swam away from everyone including her life. Now you can see why The Awakening caused such controversy, because Edna broke more than one of society’s expectations. Edna committed adultery, abandoned her husband and children, and ended up committing suicide. In my opinion this story had a sad ending. Edna had gone through so much to discover herself, for her to end up committing suicide.

Kate Chopin wrote what she did because she was not afraid to express herself. Maybe if all of us were like her we would not have to worry about society judging us for doing what we want instead of living up to their expectations.

Feminism Movement

Kate Chopin greatly contributed to the feminist movement. She was one of the first females to honestly write about females feelings towards their roles, husbands, children and sexual desires. I believe she had the courage to freely express herself due to her experiences in life. After her father’s death she was raised by her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, who were all widows. They themselves had managed to support their family without the need of a man. The mother of her great grandmother was actually the first women to get legal separation in St. Louis. Coming from a family of tough women, it was not much of a surprise for her to express herself freely about women’s rights. In her pieces of work she talked about several topics that caused controversy such as a woman committing adultery, having independence from her husband, and having control of their sexual desires. One example is The Storm, a storm being significant with what was happening. Calixta is caught alone with her lover because of a storm, they had previously been together but not to the extreme. As the storm progressed so did the affair and this time they ended up having sex. At the end of the story it said when the storm was over everybody was happy. The fact that the story described a woman who committed adultery and yet was able to live happy with her husband is what bothered the people. At the time that Chopin wrote her stories women did not have many rights, they were held to a high standard. Women were supposed to worship their husband, take care of the children and the house, so this is why her work caused such controversy. The Awakening was another story published before The Storm and it was even banned in her own home town. Although Kate Chopin was not alive while the actual women’s movement occurred, she still contributed. Her work did not receive any admiration until decades after her death around the 1950's.

Works cited
Jhirad, Anna Reid. Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening.PBS.1998
http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html



 Toth, Emily. Kate Chopin FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about Kate Chopin and her Works. KateChopin.org. Kate Chopin International Society. 1 May 2012
http://www.katechopin.org/faq.shtml#progressivereform

 David Caradine.Kate Chopin: A Woman Ahead of Her Time 18 Feb. 2002 
http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

Kate Chopin's Biography

Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1850 to Eliza and Thomas O'Flaherty. She had a very tough life by losing those who she loved. She was the third daughter out of 5 children but she was the only one to live past age 25. Her father was a wealthy man, but died due to a railroad accident. After his death Chopin was raised by her mother, grandmother and great grandmother who were all widows. Chopin was closer to her great grandmother Victoria Verdon Charleville, she was the one to educate her. They were all strong independent women in fact Victoria's mother was the first women in St. Louis to obtain a legal separation. Unfortunately Mrs. Charleville passed away when Chopin was 11 years old. Chopin attended The Sacred Heart Academy, where she was one of the top students. After graduating at the age of 19 she married Oscar Chopin. Oscar's family own their own business and they move to New Orleans. Her married life was great; Oscar practically let her do everything she wanted. Kate and Oscar had 6 children in total. Oscar was not very successful at running the business, so after his death he left Kate in debt. Kate ran the business for a year, and then moved back with her mother. Her mother died the following year. Kate then began to write in order to support her family. She was very successful, she began writing short stories. Most of her stories were based on true stories of people she had met. For example, The Awakening was based on a woman she had met in New Orleans. Her writing provoked controversy among the people. Kate Chopin continues to write until her death. She died due to a stroke on August 22, 1904. Years after her death, her work started getting attention due to her expression of female independence and sexuality.

Works Cited

Ewell, Barbara C.. "Kate Chopin," KnowLA Encyclopedia of Louisiana.  Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. 16 Feb. 2011 

http://www.www.knowla.org/entry.php?rec=650

David Caradin.Kate Chopin a Women Ahead of Her Time (1850-1904).Angel Firehttp://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

Worton M. Reading Kate Chopin Through Contemporary French Feminist Theory. Cambridge University.2008

 http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/13922/1/13922.pdf