Chopin and Victorian Women

Paper Summary:

The paper examines both "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and discusses the sense of wrongdoing, the underlying theme of freedom, the illustrations of nature and the natural world, the presence of humor and the different endings. The paper shows how these stories are vivid reminders of Victorian society and the rules women had to follow to conform to that society.

From the Paper:

"Kate Chopin wrote numerous novels, short stories, and articles during her life and these two short stories are some of her most well known and discussed works. She always writes of strong female characters, who are not quite as "domesticated" and docile as normal women of the time and these stories are no exception. They feature strong women who do not conform to the social constraints of the time, and they long for something more than what they have. Both of the stories contain passion, longing, and dissatisfaction, some of Chopin's most common themes, and they illustrate the Victorian morals of the time, especially as they pertained to women. Chopin's work was far ahead of its time in many ways, and that is why her popularity continued to grow long after her death. She was a powerful and gifted writer, as these stories show, and she was always concerned with issues that pertained to women at the turn of the 20th century."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Katie. Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barney et al. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2007. PG.
• Chopin, Kate. The Awakening, and Other Stories. Ed. Pamela Knights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Simons, Karen. "Kate Chopin on the Nature of Things." The Mississippi Quarterly 51.2 (1998): 243+.
• Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.
• Walker, Nancy. ""A Group of People at My Disposal": Humor in the Works of Kate Chopin." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 17.1 (2000): 48.

More papers on Chopin and Victorian Women:

• Essay # 137416 : "Analyzing Symbolism and the Submissive Role of Victorian Women in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin"
• Analytical Essay # 47294 : "Victorian Women"
• Analytical Essay # 64073 : "Kate Chopin and Historical Realism"

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