Kate Chopin Biography

Kate Chopin was an American feminist writer. She penned two novels besides writing more than a hundred short stories and sketches. It was her great grandmother who helped her to enrich her knowledge about French culture and feminism that inspired her literary works in later period of her life. Louisiana acted as the background for most of her stories. Her earlier writings reflect the influence of William Dean Howells, a realist author. She skilfully employed the ironic style of Maupassant through several of her short stories like “Desiree’s Baby”. She had to face severe criticism by male critics for her usage of controversial topics like marriage, feminism and suicide in her novel “The Awakening”. The critics found the content of this novel controversial as one of its female characters has two lovers, which the critics considered as completely unethical. Through her writings, she supported the ability of women to think independently. Her short stories like “The Story of an Hour” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings” mirror her liberal attitude towards women. Her several short stories were published in renowned magazines like “Vogue”. Unfortunately, she did not receive much acknowledgement for her literary works but after her death, scholars found her controversial novel “The Awakening” as a thought provoking creation.