The Truth of Kate Chopin's Stories

An abandoned woman, fights for the truths she believes in, victoriously. This woman is Kate Chopin, whose works of literature are widely popular, mainly published while she was alive, and met with rave reviews. There was one exception, The Awakening, a novel that takes a feministic approach to life; that honors women's opinions and beliefs, as unique and individual. The feministic approach to this novel was deemed "vulgar, morbid, and disagreeable," by critics. (katechopin.org). Many of her other popular stories have strong female characters as well that approach the same integrity and individuality as the novel The Awakening implies, with less morbid results to readers.

Kate Chopin was born during the late 1800's, during a time where family unity was extremely important. Death was introduced into her life at a young age, when she was five, and her father passed away from a work accident, leaving her mother to care for her and her sisters. This left Kate even more engaged and involved in the lives of women, with very few male role models. She learned how to live independently and efficiently from the women around her, as well as her friends that she attended school with. (katechopin.org.) Kate Chopin married, had six children, and at the age of thirty-two, became widowed, when her husband became ill and died of malaria. Again, this left Kate alone, with six children and her female role-models to help her care for her family. She was encouraged to write, by a family friend and physician, and she started submitting works. This became her new way of life, raising her family independently, while working to achieve greatness as a published author. A woman, during this time period was not commonly raising her family and working, let alone on her own. These ambitions fell on Kate Chopin without much debate or questioning. She threw herself full throttle into a career and successfully contributed to society with numerous works, short stories, magazine publications and novels. (pbs.org/katechopin).

In Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" we are introduced to Mrs. Mallard, who is a frail individual, and through other individuals in her life, we learn that her husband has passed away in a railroad accident, where he works. To ensure that Mrs. Mallard isn't too upset, her friends confirm the news as truth, before heading over to share with her this grave change of life. At first, Mrs. Mallard is upset and wrought with sadness, at the loss of her husband. However, as the hour progresses, she starts to imagine her life with less of her husband as her focus, and areas in her life that she has always hoped and dreamed of. Her senses are stronger and she is able to focus more on herself. At first, this frightens Mrs. Mallard, as her priority in life has been caring for her husband. After some time, her friend comes in to check on her to make sure she is not getting ill from her grief, even though inside, Mrs. Mallard is truly considering life in a new light. Just as she is preparing herself for her new life, and starts to walk down the stairs of her home, Mr. Mallard walks in the doors of their shared home. This truly shocks Mrs. Mallard, and perhaps even breaks her heart. She in the end is the one who passes away from a sickened heart. (Chopin 158).

I see a great parallel in Kate's life in comparison to Mrs. Mallard, which is why I believe this story appears so real. Kate Chopin had to have known exactly how Mrs. Mallard was feeling at the loss of her husband and an idea of her life being renewed. When Kate's husband died and her writing career started to thrive, she started to create a whole new life for herself. Unlike Mrs. Mallard's, Kate's life was full and she was a great successful writer with much to share with others. Kate Chopin has adequately expressed the concept of having life restored, changed, and the idea that this life can be built upon our past experiences and help pave our way to our future.

Another story, "Desiree's Baby", also shares very strong female characters, the mother of Armand, who hides the fact that she is of African heritage, and Desiree, the woman that is abandoned by Armand because he doesn't believe their dark skinned child is his. We venture through the lives of these individuals as they debate and ponder the situation of their son having darker skin. Obviously, Armand has not been told the truth of his heritage and background, so he is irritated with his wife, believing that she has been unfaithful. Desiree doesn't know how to absolve this issue. She has done nothing wrong and is now the mother of a baby that is no longer wanted by his father. She is at a loss and her heart is torn. Instead of fighting, she just takes the child and leaves, with faith that she can create a life for her son that is full of love and a nurturing environment, what every mother wants for her child.

Desiree expresses to her dear friend, "Armand is the proudest father in the parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy, to bear his name, though he says not, - that he would have loved a girl as well. But I know it isn't true. I know he says that to please me, and mamma, he hasn't punished one of them -- not one of them -- since baby is born." (Chopin 155). This comment leads me to believe that Armand questions the relationship to his own past, and allows me to hope that once he realizes his true identity that he will remain faithful to Desiree and his son, despite the color of his skin.

Desiree is a strong woman to have walked away from the situation she was in. Obviously Armand was known to rage and use his temper, specifically on his slaves. This must have been scary for Desiree, especially as Armand questioned the origins of the child that they birthed together. Society as a whole would more than likely have the same opinion as Armand, despite the truth at hand. She could have easily abandoned herself from her home, family, and society; yet she took a path that she desired to build a better life for her child. This took courage, ambition and a loving heart, which are not always looked upon positively by others.

Kate Chopin also has expressed these attributes. It took her great courage to step out of the mold of family life, once her husband died and step up to take financial responsibility for her family. This also meant a great role change, as head of household and bread-winner. This role is incredibly challenging in today's society, and I cannot imagine the struggle that Kate Chopin had in the late 1800's dealing with differing views and opinions of women, as well as the concept that women are less competent to complete the job that she had on her shoulders. Her feministic views are definitely shared in stories like, "Desiree's Baby," where a woman has no choice but to change. Kate holds women in high regard and while she doesn't necessarily place them on a pedestal, I believe she educates her readers to the realities that women face, the strength that they possess and how these changes help shape their lives.

Truth is determined by the life that we live. Circumstances that we live help determine the truth of our lives. We all have a different perception of reality and the truth in life, because we all have individual experiences. No two lives are exactly the same. We all come with a suitcase of memories, happenings, circumstances, and gifts that we bring to every relationship, opportunity, and every fork in the road. It is how we utilize this suitcase that helps us progress as people and helps shape the lives of other people.

Kate Chopin has done an incredible job of shaping the lives of other people. Her stories have offered entertainment, inspiration, and value to human struggle. The characters in her stories all have a great passion for something. They stand up for what they believe in, using their strengths to heighten their awareness, and live fully. I believe Kate Chopin lived a full life. While she lost a great deal, she didn't allow these set-backs to ruin her life or the lives of her children. She stepped up to the challenge of raising six children independently, with the women that were role-models in her childhood, and she did so with dignity.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "Story of an Hour" and "Desiree's Baby" in Ann Charters The Story and It's Writer. 2007. Bedford/St. Martin's, Massachusetts.

Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening. Acquired January 10, 2010. http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/transcript.html

Kate Chopin Biography. Acquired January 10, 2010. www.katechopin.org/biography

Marguand, Jane Le. Kate Chopin as Feminist: Subverting the French Androcentric Influence. Acquired. January 10. http://www.otago.ac.nz/DeepSouth/vol2no3/chopin.html