The Life of Kate Chopin Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The life of Kate Chopin      Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopin led a fascinating life filled with times of triumph but also times of great loss. Living in the South during the post-Civil War era, the setting and experiences of her life would have a great impact on the subjects of her writing. Chopin began writing as a way to express her frustration with life. This is why her emotions about life are conveyed so strongly in her writing. One of her short stories, "Juanita," is an excellent example of how Chopin's life affected her writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of "Juanita" is that of a young woman who, though not incredibly beautiful, had many admirers. The people of her small town gossiped continually about which man she would marry. Would it be the man who had traveled all the way from the city for the sole purpose of seeing her? Or would it be the rich millionaire from Texas who owned a hundred horses? The townspeople all assumed she would choose the richest of her suitors, until one day Juanita announced that she had secretly married a poor one-legged man whom she loved very much.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To truly understand the characters of Chopin's stories, one must examine the history of her life. Kate Chopin was born as Katherine O'Flaherty to a wealthy Irish St. Louis family on February 8, 1851. While she was still a young child, her father died in a train accident. Only a few years later her brother died after being captured by Union forces during the Civil War. The loss of all the males in her life, according to Hoffman, led to the intense female relationships she shared with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. As a young woman, Kate treasured her independence. Late 1860's society was highly critical of her because she walked, unac... ... about the world as she actually saw it. For a woman to do this in the late nineteenth century was unheard of, and Chopin was highly criticized for it at the time. But after going through as much as she did in her life, she could not stay silent. Ker suggests that "after 39 years of trials and tribulations and just plain living, she finally had something to say!"    Works Cited Chopin, Kate. "Juanita." A Vocation and a Voice Stories. Ed. Emily Toth. New York: Penguin Books. 1991. 86-88 Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Bantam Books. 1988 Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth. "Kate Chopin: A re-awakening." http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html Hoffman, Audrey. "Kate Chopin." http://www.kutstown.edu/faculty/reagan/chopin.html Ker, Christina. "Kate Chopin- Ahead of her Time." http://empirezine.com/spotlight/chopin/chopin1.htm