Kate Chopin's New Roles of Women

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Kate Chopin's literary works "The Story of an Hour" and "A Respectable Woman", which bear testament to the desire for self-discovery illustrated by women at the turn of the century. Chopin's novels and short stories outline many of these women's conflicting emotions as they struggle between the paradigm of traditional patriarchy and that of empowered feminism. The paper relates that "The Story of an Hour" illustrates how women were beginning to feel suffocated and stifled by the necessity of marriage imposed to them by society and that "A Respectable Woman" debunked the traditional notion that women were overtly emotional and unable to control their sensibilities when it came to matters of love and lust.

From the Paper:

"Her life had become hers again. Thus when her husband suddenly appears at their front door, apparently unaware that everyone believed him dead, the hopes and ambitions that had filled Louise during that last hour, the dream of living her life for herself and not for anybody else's, was suddenly shattered such that it was she who had died, not from the supposed joy of seeing her husband alive but from sheer and utter disappointment that she would have to live a life within the bondage of marriage."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Kate. A Respectable Woman. University of Virginia Library: Electronic Text Center. 11 December 2007 <http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ChoResp.html>
• Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Virginia Commonwealth University. 11 December 2007 <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/>
• No author. Kate Chopin (February 8, 1850 - August 22, 1904). Washington State University. 11 December 2007 <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/chopin.htm>
• No author. Kate Chopin. 14 July 1998. Women Writers. 11 December 2007 <http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/chopin1.htm>

More papers on Kate Chopin's New Roles of Women:

• Analytical Essay # 60605 : "Women and Work"
• Analytical Essay # 60914 : "Women Authors"
• Analytical Essay # 28196 : "Women's Roles in Four Short Stories"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: