Kate Chopin (1851–1904)
Author of The Awakening
About the Author
Kate Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 8, 1851. Although she was brought up in a wealthy and socially elite Catholic family, Chopin's childhood was marred by tragedies. Her father was killed in a train accident when Chopin was just four years old, and in the show more following years she also lost her older brother, great-grandmother, and half-brother. In 1870, at the age of 19, she married Oscar Chopin, the son of a wealthy cotton-growing family in Louisiana. The couple had seven children together, five boys and two girls, before Oscar died of swamp fever in 1883. The following year, Chopin packed up her family and moved back to St. Louis to be with her mother, who died just a year later. To support herself and her family, Chopin started to write. Her first novel, At Fault, was published in 1890. Her most famous work, The Awakening, inspired by a real-life New Orleans woman who committed adultery, was published in 1899. The book explores the social and psychological consequences of a woman caught in an unhappy marriage in 19th century America, is now considered a classic of the feminist movement and caused such an uproar in the community that Chopin almost entirely gave up writing. Chopin did try her hand at a few short stories, most of which were not even published. Chopin died on August 22, 1904, of a brain hemorrhage, after collapsing at the World's Fair just two days before. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: from Wikipedia
Works by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories: At Fault / Bayou Folk / A Night in Acadie / The Awakening / Uncollected… (2002) 348 copies
British Mystery Megapack Volume 4: The Secret Adversary, Tales of Chinatown, At The Villa Rose, Egyptian Cigarette, A… (2014) 11 copies
Kate Chopin: Complete Collection of Works with analysis and historical background (Annotated and Illustrated)… (2013) 7 copies
O Despertar 4 copies
At the 'Cadian Ball 3 copies
Kate Chopin's Collected Works: At Fault, Bayou Folk, Juanita, Lilacs, The Kiss, Her Letters, A Family Affair, A… (2013) 3 copies
Il sogno di unៜora 3 copies
Kate Chopin: The Complete Novels and Stories (The Greatest Writers of All Time Book 22) (2016) 2 copies
Short Fiction 2 copies
A HistĂłria de uma Hora e Outros Contos (Coleção Folha InglĂȘs Com ClĂĄssicos Da Literatura, #24) 2 copies
The Awakening Cane Maggie : A Girl of the Streets Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Norton Critical Editions Ser) (1999) 2 copies
No title 2 copies
O Beijo 2 copies
Works by Kate Chopin: Novels by Kate Chopin, Short Stories by Kate Chopin, Desiree's Baby, the Awakening, the… (2010) 1 copy
Meias de Seda 1 copy
âThe âCadian Ballâ 1 copy
âLilacsâ 1 copy
Kate Chopin Collection: The Awakening, At Fault, Bayou Folk, DĂ©sirĂ©eâs Baby & Other Stories 1 copy
Culpados 1 copy
Charlie; and other stories 1 copy
Chopin, Kate Archive 1 copy
The Awakening & Other Short Stories: Kate Chopin (Short Stories, Classics, Literature) [Annotated] (2021) 1 copy
En kvinde vågner 1 copy
Associated Works
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 929 copies
The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Tradition in English (1985) — Contributor — 860 copies
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps (2009) — Contributor — 265 copies
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest (2013) — Contributor — 149 copies
In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe: Classic Tales of Horror, 1816-1914 (2015) — Contributor — 91 copies
Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories About Battering and Resistance, 1839-1994 (1996) — Contributor — 40 copies
Civil War Memories: Nineteen Stories of Battle, Bravery, Love, and Tragedy (2000) — Contributor — 33 copies
The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe and Other Stories of Women and Fatness (2003) — Contributor — 27 copies
Classic American women writers: Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather (Perennial library ; P 502) (1980) — Contributor — 25 copies
Discovering Fiction Student's Book 1: A Reader of American Short Stories (2001) — Contributor — 19 copies
Great Classic Stories II: Eighteen Unabridged Classics (2010) — Contributor, some editions — 16 copies
Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Horror and Supernatural of the 19th Century (1983) — Contributor — 16 copies
Haunted Women: The Best Supernatural Tales by American Women Writers (1985) — Contributor — 15 copies
The Banned Books Compendium: 32 Classic Forbidden Books — Contributor — 9 copies
Representative American Short Stories — Contributor — 5 copies
Discovering Fiction Level 2 Student's Book: A Reader of North American Short Stories (2012) — Contributor — 2 copies
For Want of a Horse: Twenty-Three Tales of Supernatural Stallions, Magical Mares, and Paranormal Ponies (2015) — Contributor — 2 copies
ESSENTIAL COLLECTION OF CLASSIC BANNED BOOKS: Adam Bede, Fanny Hill, Candide, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The… — Contributor — 2 copies
La nueva mujer: Relatos de escritoras estadounidenses del siglo XIX — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Chopin, Kate
- Legal name
- O'Flaherty, Katherine (birth name)
Chopin, Katherine - Other names
- Chopin, Kate
- Birthdate
- 1851-02-08
- Date of death
- 1904-08-22
- Burial location
- Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Place of death
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Cause of death
- brain hemorrhage
- Places of residence
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Grand Coteau, Louisiana, USA
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, USA - Education
- Sacred Heart Academy, St. Louis
- Occupations
- novelist
short story writer - Organizations
- Wednesday Club
- Awards and honors
- St. Louis Walk of Fame
- Short biography
- Katherine OâFlaherty was the daughter of an Irish immigrant father and a French-Creole mother. She was educated at the St. Louis Sacred Heart Academy and then made a debut into Southern society. In 1870, she married Oscar Chopin, a cotton trader from Louisiana, and the couple had six children. Widowed in 1882, and needing to support herself and her young children, Kate Chopin began to write sketches of her former plantation life, which appeared in periodicals such as Bayou Folk. These received immediate acclaim, as did her first novel At Fault (1890). Kate Chopin published two novels and about 100 short stories in the 1890s. Most of her fiction was set in Louisiana and her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women. Her short stories were most popular in her own day and appeared in some of America's most prestigious magazines. After her death her work was temporarily forgotten, but then in the 1920s her short stories began to appear in anthologies, and the public and literary scholars again began to take notice of her.
Members
Reviews
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
I liked the first half of the novel set in the Gulf Islands, as our heroine awakens, more than the final half where she explores her new self back in New Orleans- but both were good. I'd say a solid 3.5 stars. The writing is very good, at times excellent, and as every blurb on the novel states extremely bold for its time in the late 1800's.
Chopin plays the English language like a concert pianist. Many lovely and poetic turns of phrase. What was shocking in 1899 wouldn't alarm an eight-year-old today, the book is still an engaging read, at times almost like Chopin is whispering it into your ear.
The Awakening - 5 stars
the other short stories - mainly 2-3 stars (with one 4 star)
the other short stories - mainly 2-3 stars (with one 4 star)
A slow, short, but pretty amazing novel and I see why it's as influential as it is.
The plot focuses on a woman finding herself. Finding her individualism and rebelling against the conformative expectations of society. Infidelity is the plot vehicle this is done through, and I feel like people really get caught up on this, but ultimately, I don't think the crux of the book is about infidelity, rather marriage is just a symbol for conformity and female oppression. That being said, some moments of writing referring to the affair are beautifully written, Chopin really hits her stride when she was writing about their relationship.
Ending was powerful, but felt super rushed. Really wished it would have been expanded upon a bit.
Favorite Quote:
"She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her. It was not that she dwelt upon details of their acquaintance, or recalled in any special or peculiar way his personality; it was his being, his existence, which dominated her thought, fading sometimes as if it would melt into the mist of the forgotten, reviving again with an intensity which filled her with an incomprehensible longing."… (more)
The plot focuses on a woman finding herself. Finding her individualism and rebelling against the conformative expectations of society. Infidelity is the plot vehicle this is done through, and I feel like people really get caught up on this, but ultimately, I don't think the crux of the book is about infidelity, rather marriage is just a symbol for conformity and female oppression. That being said, some moments of writing referring to the affair are beautifully written, Chopin really hits her stride when she was writing about their relationship.
Ending was powerful, but felt super rushed. Really wished it would have been expanded upon a bit.
Favorite Quote:
"She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her. It was not that she dwelt upon details of their acquaintance, or recalled in any special or peculiar way his personality; it was his being, his existence, which dominated her thought, fading sometimes as if it would melt into the mist of the forgotten, reviving again with an intensity which filled her with an incomprehensible longing."… (more)
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 170
- Also by
- 64
- Members
- 18,556
- Popularity
- #1,180
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 298
- ISBNs
- 730
- Languages
- 16
- Favorited
- 53