JacksonEnglish 2070Kate Chopin and Edna Pontellier as Feminists Kate Chopin is known for her literary works that depict culture in New Orleans, Louisiana, and of women’s struggles for freedom. She was born Katherine O’Flaherty in Missouri, and later married Oscar Chopin in 1870. He was a Creole cotton trader from New Orleans. Later they moved to a plantation near Cloutierville, Louisiana, where her husband died in 1882. She returned to Missouri with her six children, and began her writing career. She began writing mostly “local color” stories that earned her consideration as a contributor to Southern regional literature. She later began writing stories about women’s need for independence and capacity for passion, such as The Story of an Hour and the well known The Awakening. Her stories of women developing sensuality and individuality attracted a storm of negative criticism. Her career was severely damaged by this and she only managed to publish three more stories, and they were not well received. (Seyersted, 15-19)At the end of the nineteenth century, American thoughts and beliefs were undergoing many changes. It was a period in which Americans were unsure about their feelings concerning the industrialization, urbanization, and changing social standards that were taking place. The first women's right convention was held in July of 1848, in New York. This was the beginning of the “modern feminist movement.” The women leaders pushed on until 1870, when the 15th Amendment allowed women the right to vote. (Seyersted, 45) This was also the year that Kate was married to Oscar Chopin. Noticing this we can realize how aware Chopin must have been of these changes, and how she used them to feel confident in allowing her novels to grow more liberal. This time of change also caused the awful reaction of The Awakening that Kate Chopin probably did not expect. Although the women in America we...
