79, he decided to move up north to his family’s plantations. It was there that Kate became introduced to the Creole community that became an important focus of her writing. In 1882, Oscar contracted swamp fever and died a year later from complications of the disease. He left Kate with six children.Kate had five boys and a girl: Jean, Oscar, George, Frederick, Felix, and Lelia. After Oscar’s death, Kate took her family to St. Louis and moved in with her mother. A year later, Kate’s mother also died, causing Kate to seek comfort in a local family physician, Frederick Kolbenheyer. It was he who suggested that Kate take up writing as a way of expressing herself and her frustration with life.Kate’s writing career began when she published her first poem, “If It Might Be,” in 1889. She also published her first two short stories that same year, “Wiser Than a God,” and, “A Point at Issue.” In 1890, Kate published her first novel, At Fault (3). The book depicted a young woman who discovered that her fianc had divorced his first wife because she was an alcoholic. After struggling with her morals and trying to figure out what to do, she told him to marry his ex-wife because it was the right thing to do. He surprisingly accepted her suggestion and remarried his wife who then continued her alcoholic endeavors. She suffered an accident because of her drinking and the husband and the woman were finally able to continue their relationship without any interference or consequences. At Fault received mixed reviews, and was criticized for dealing too much with female alcoholism and marriage problems. Later in January of 1893, Chopin published one of her most famous short stories, “Desiree’s Baby.” This story was later included in Bayou Folk, a collection of twenty-three short stories and sketches published in 1894. The stories included in this collection depicted Louisiana life. U...
