Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Kate Chopin, a woman daring to think for herself
The name Kate Chopin rang a bell. My first thoughts were writer and/or feminist, but I could not get far beyond that from memory. Then, I encountered the Kate Chopin house in Cloutierville. Louisiana and met a bit of history face to face.
Kate Chopin was a feminist and a writer, encouraged by her husband to be independent and unconventional in the evocative Victorian era. Can you picture her female neighbors whispering and gasping into their lace shawls as Kate drank beer, smoked small cigars, rode horses and wore skirts hemmed above her ankles* or how about the males in the neighborhood wishing they were the recipient of her supposed flirtations? Kate raised her 6 children under the age of 12 as a young widow after her husband, Oscar died of Swamp Fever in 1882. Perhaps she did not have time for such flirtations.
Kate was born in St. Louis, Mo. into the maternally dominant O’Flaherty family and in 1870 married a French Creole named Oscar Chopin. They moved to New Orleans and thrived on the business of selling cotton, until disaster struck 9 years later. The business failed and the family moved to Cloutierville, a town named for the architect of their newly inherited home.
This structure, as shown in the accompanying photograph is now open to the public with very informal tours. I had to ring a large cowbell to get the attention of the volunteer on duty. The signs in the photograph say, ”Open for Tours” and on the wrought iron gate, “closed admission charged.” The blue sign beyond the brick post simply reads Kate Chopin House.
Kate Chopin is most renowned for her story, The Awakening. Recognition and acknowledgement of her work was minimal during her lifetime. Literary recognition of her work and for her ability to portray women of courage in the face of “conventional restraints.” has greatly escalated since her sudden death in 1904. I certainly plan to seek out and read her stories very soon.
*Anecdote: Kate must have been both practical and frugal; she was known to wear her wedding dress while doing chores in the house so the one-time garment would not go to waste.
Kate Chopin was a feminist and a writer, encouraged by her husband to be independent and unconventional in the evocative Victorian era. Can you picture her female neighbors whispering and gasping into their lace shawls as Kate drank beer, smoked small cigars, rode horses and wore skirts hemmed above her ankles* or how about the males in the neighborhood wishing they were the recipient of her supposed flirtations? Kate raised her 6 children under the age of 12 as a young widow after her husband, Oscar died of Swamp Fever in 1882. Perhaps she did not have time for such flirtations.
Kate was born in St. Louis, Mo. into the maternally dominant O’Flaherty family and in 1870 married a French Creole named Oscar Chopin. They moved to New Orleans and thrived on the business of selling cotton, until disaster struck 9 years later. The business failed and the family moved to Cloutierville, a town named for the architect of their newly inherited home.
This structure, as shown in the accompanying photograph is now open to the public with very informal tours. I had to ring a large cowbell to get the attention of the volunteer on duty. The signs in the photograph say, ”Open for Tours” and on the wrought iron gate, “closed admission charged.” The blue sign beyond the brick post simply reads Kate Chopin House.
Kate Chopin is most renowned for her story, The Awakening. Recognition and acknowledgement of her work was minimal during her lifetime. Literary recognition of her work and for her ability to portray women of courage in the face of “conventional restraints.” has greatly escalated since her sudden death in 1904. I certainly plan to seek out and read her stories very soon.
*Anecdote: Kate must have been both practical and frugal; she was known to wear her wedding dress while doing chores in the house so the one-time garment would not go to waste.
# posted by Ann Carol @ 9:32 PM 
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