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Life and Times of Kate Chopin 1850-1904. Author Background. A woman ahead of her time…. Born Katherine O’Flaherty in 1850 Born and raised in the South Attended Academy of the Sacred Heart in Louisiana when she was 5 years old. Wrote during the Civil War era
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Life and Times of Kate Chopin1850-1904 Author Background
A woman ahead of her time… • Born Katherine O’Flaherty in 1850 • Born and raised in the South • Attended Academy of the Sacred Heart in Louisiana when she was 5 years old. • Wrote during the Civil War era • Victorian America (Victorian England influenced American culture during this time period)
Cult of True Womanhood4 virtues women were to uphold… • Piety--Advocates believed that women were far more religious and spiritual in nature than men. • Purity--America's women were supposed to be pure of heart, mind, and, of course, body, not engaging in sexual intercourse until marriage, and even then not enjoying it. • Submission--Women were supposed to live in a kind of perpetual childhood, passively responding to the actions and decisions of men. • Domesticity--The Industrial Revolution had created a clear division between the public sphere of work and the private sphere of home. Home and hearth, according to the Cult of True Womanhood, became the domain of woman and her refuge from the temptations of everyday life.
Going against the grain… • Kate was surrounded and educated by many strong, independent women. • Many of the women that cared for and educated Kate were widows. • Raised during the time of an ongoing battle for women’s rights • Endured many losses in her life including her husband, father, mother, best friend… • Kate’s grandmother, Madame Charleville, taught her music, history, French and told her to live life “clearly and fearlessly.”
Reform during the late 19th Century Old values vs. the need for change • Women’s education • Women’s dress • Women working out of the home
Kate’s Views • Chopin “had a strong desire to be her own woman” • “Kate did not restrict herself to a certain way of acting, living, or writing.” • “In a time that it was not acceptable for women to speak out about sexuality or independence, Kate screams it in her writing.” • Her stories were seen as “controversial” for their time.