Kate Chopin

1. Kate Chopin (1850-1904)

2. Katherine O’Flaherty • February 8, 1850 • St. Louis, Missouri • Thomas O’Flaherty, her father, was of Irish descent • Eliza Faris, her mother, was of French descent

3. Strong Women • Eliza O’Flaherty – A member of the French-Creole community. Widowed at age 27, Kate’s mother never remarried. • Her grandmother, Madame Charleville, and great-grandmother had been widowed at an early age and never remarried. • Her great-great-grandmother and her husband were the first to be granted a legal separation in St. Louis.

4. Early Education • Sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart at age 5, she left after only 2 months when her father died. • Her great-grandmother taught her music, history, French, and the need to “live life clearly and fearlessly.” • Two years later, Kate returned to school. Academy of the Sacred Heart Grand Coteau, Louisiana

5. Kate’s Commonplace Book • After seeing her depressed, a nun encouraged Kate to begin a personal journal. • She wrote in her journal until the end of her three month honeymoon in Europe.

6. Kate: The Woman • Met Oscar Chopin at 19 and married him on June 9, 1870. • Moved to New Orleans. • After the failure of his business, he moved his family to Natchitoches Parish. • Oscar died in 1883 after contracting swamp fever. • He left Kate with 6 children.

7. Kate and Four of Her Children

8. Kate: The Writer I suppose this is what you would call unwomanly; but I have got into the habit of expressing myself. It doesn't matter to me, and you may think me unwomanly if you like. • After having moved back to St. Louis, Kate’s mother died. • Kate started writing to ease her pain and to help support her children. • Writing was one of the few ways women could make a living, averaging some $15-30 for a story, and a few hundred for a novel • Nearly all of her work is set in the areas around New Orleans, Grand Isle, and Natchitoches Parish and provides a vivid window into Louisiana life near the turn of the century

9. Kate: The Writer 1893-1897 • works such as “Désirée’s Baby,” Bayou Folk, “Story of an Hour,” “Athénaise,” and A Night in Acadie are written and published • June 1897: Chopin begins work on The Awakening • 1898 • Chopin completes The Awakening • 1899 • - The Awakening published to scathing reviews

10. THE AWAKENING • By the time The Awakening was published, Chopin was a well established, • national writer of note. Because of this, the novel was reviewed by ALL major critics who UNIVERSALLY condemned it. Even though her early stories were well-received and earned her literary fame as a "local colorist," even appearing in the first issue of Vogue, Chopin’s career was devastated when The Awakening was published in 1899. It drew a storm of criticism for its "shocking, morbid, and vulgar“ story and quickly went out of print. • After the harsh reception of her novel, Chopin retreated into private life. • She sank into obscurity until . . . • 1900 • Chopin writes “The Gentleman from New Orleans” and is listed in the first • edition of Who’s Who in USA • 1904 • -August 18th: Chopin visited the Louisiana Exposition, a World’s Fair, when it • came to St. Louis; she suffered a stroke that night • -August 22th: Katherine O’Flaherty Chopin dies

11. Scandal • After The Awakening was published in 1899, literary critics condemned her novel for the sexual promiscuity of the protagonist. • After a decade of writing, Kate Chopin ends her literary career. • Kate dies on August 20, 1904 of a cerebral hemorrhage after attending the St. Louis World’s Fair.

12. KATE CHOPIN AND THE AWAKENING Since being resurrected in the 1950s, The Awakening is now among the five most-read American novels in colleges and universities and is considered an early example of American realism. The narrative, set in Grand Isle and New Orleans, like the majority of Chopin’s work, is the story of a young matron’s gradual awakening to her own sexual and individual being and longing for an independence that society would not permit her. Dr. Emily Toth of Louisiana State University says, “I’d first read her when I was given a copy of The Awakening by a woman who said to me, ‘You should read this book,’ and the big question that we asked ourselves was HOW DID KATE CHOPIN KNOW ALL THAT IN 1899?”

13. VOCABULARY FOR THE CHOPIN’S WRITING – French Quarter: originally known as “Creole city,” an area of New Orleansthat had remained unchanged since 1721 (until Hurricane Katrina); bounded by the Mississippi River, Rampart Street, Canal Street, and Esplanade Avenue (where the Pontelliers have their house), the “Quarter” is laid out in a grid; as its original name suggests, the “Quarter” is the area where the Spanish, French, and free people of color worked, lived, and intermarried – Creole:term used differently in several contexts. In the broadest sense, it refers to the blending of French, Spanish, and sometimes African-Caribbean cultures in colonial Louisiana. Can specifically refer to the French-Spanish or French-Spanish-African cultures of New Orleans. Black Creole refers to the African-French culture in rural southwest Louisiana. The Creole language is a blending of French and African-Caribbean influences and is spoken predominately by black Creoles. – mulatto (mulattress): a person of mixed black & white descent, usually one white and one black parent – quadroon: a person of mixed black & white descent, with one black grandparent, thus having one-quarter African ancestry

14. Grand Isle, Louisiana, and New Orleans around 1899 New Orleans: Catholic, French, with a great deal of interracial mixing; a relatively easy-going society Husbands are not overly jealous of the attentions their wives receive from other men; women do not place too much credence in these attentions Victorian & Early 20th Century Sexuality Victorian attitude largely influenced by Charles Darwin, basically demoted humans from an almost-Divine position to that of animal, and Sigmund Freud, believed most of human nature to be rooted in its sexuality VERY strict codes of attitude and behavior evolved to “prevent” humans from regressing into mere animal behavior, and to “ensure” their “healthy” development Men & women were not supposed to talk about – or even indulge in thoughts about – sex; therefore, Chopin is not at liberty to write openly about the sexual liaisons that most likely develop in the narrative SETTING & SOCIALBACKGROUND

15. Literary Elements of Chopin’s Writing Themes – emotional repression – personal freedom vs. societal expectations – role of women – search for self – alienation, loneliness, and independence – consequences of choices Challenges • Understanding setting, period, geography • • Appreciating Louisiana culture • • Grasping its social, racial, & ethnic strata • • Enjoying the use of dialect in fiction. • • Seeing how Chopin’s fiction relates to literary & philosophical movements

16. Works Cited • “Academy of the Sacred Heart.” http://www.ashcoteau.org/ • “Classical Archives.” http://www.classicalarchives.com/ • “Kate Chopin.” http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/chopin1.htm • “Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening.” http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/program.html • “Kate Chopin: A Woman Ahead of Her Time.” http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html