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Kate Chopin (1851–1904)

Author of The Awakening

168+ Works 18,328 Members 297 Reviews 53 Favorited

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

The Awakening (1899) 9,141 copies
At Fault (1890) 117 copies
The Kiss and Other Stories (1995) 95 copies
American Women Writers (1983) 48 copies
Portraits (1979) 43 copies
Bayou Folk (1894) 26 copies
Awakening and Other Stories (2014) 25 copies
The Storm (2002) 23 copies
A Night in Acadie (1897) 13 copies
The Locket [short story] (2015) 10 copies
UyanÄ±ĆŸ (2019) 7 copies
The Kiss [short story] (2015) — Author — 6 copies
Virgumine (2002) 5 copies
La culpa (2016) 5 copies
Regret (1995) 3 copies
The Short Story and You. (1999) 3 copies
O Despertar 3 copies
Ozeme's Holiday (1995) 2 copies
L'Eveil (1990) 2 copies
L'EVEIL (2018) 2 copies
La cigarette égyptienne (1995) 2 copies
O Beijo 2 copies
Nine Stories (2022) 2 copies
No title 2 copies
An Idle Fellow (2019) 2 copies
Kate Chopin Miscellany (1979) 1 copy
Women stories (1999) 1 copy
Louisiana Stories (2003) 1 copy

Associated Works

Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 915 copies
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 743 copies
Great Short Stories by American Women (1996) — Contributor — 408 copies
Women & Fiction: Short Stories By and About Women (1975) — Contributor — 365 copies
The Treasury of American Short Stories (1981) — Contributor — 267 copies
Erotica: Women's Writing from Sappho to Margaret Atwood (1990) — Contributor — 168 copies
The Signet Classic Book of Southern Short Stories (1991) — Contributor — 121 copies
The Lifted Veil: Women's 19th Century Stories (2005) — Contributor — 113 copies
The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology (1997) — Contributor — 98 copies
Norton Introduction to the Short Novel (1982) — Contributor, some editions — 98 copies
American Short Stories (1976) — Contributor, some editions — 95 copies
A Treasury of American Horror Stories (1985) — Contributor — 94 copies
American Fantastic Tales: Boxed Set (2009) — Contributor — 92 copies
The American Fantasy Tradition (2002) — Contributor — 89 copies
The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories by Women (1995) — Contributor — 80 copies
The Vintage Book of American Women Writers (2011) — Contributor — 56 copies
Best Loved Short Stories of Nineteenth Century America (2003) — Contributor — 39 copies
New Orleans Noir 2: The Classics (2016) — Contributor — 37 copies
Medusa's Daughters (2020) — Contributor — 34 copies
The Secret Self: A Century of Short Stories by Women (1995) — Contributor — 33 copies
Rediscoveries: American Short Stories by Women, 1832-1916 (1994) — Contributor — 32 copies
Stories To Get You Through The Night (2010) — Contributor — 32 copies
American Gothic Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy) (2019) — Contributor — 32 copies
American gothic : An anthology 1787–1916 (1999) — Contributor — 26 copies
Almost Touching the Skies: Women's Coming of Age Stories (2000) — Contributor — 21 copies
Great Classic Stories II: Eighteen Unabridged Classics (2010) — Contributor, some editions — 15 copies
Classic Short Stories by Trailblazing Women (2023) — Contributor — 13 copies
Love Stories: Classic Tales of Romance (2010) — Contributor — 13 copies
Of Leaf and Flower: Stories and Poems for Gardeners (2001) — Contributor — 11 copies
Classic American Short Stories [2016] (2012) — Contributor — 11 copies
More Classic American Short Stories (2007) — Contributor — 9 copies
Great Classic Mysteries II (2012) — Contributor — 7 copies
Library of Southern Literature, Vol. II: Boyle-Clarke (1909) — Contributor — 5 copies
Representative American Short Stories — Contributor — 5 copies
Great Love Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (2016) — Contributor — 4 copies
Enjoying Stories (1987) — Contributor — 2 copies
Representative Modern Short Stories (1929) — Contributor — 2 copies

Tagged

1001 books (72) 19th century (426) adultery (92) American (372) American fiction (91) American literature (618) anthology (685) classic (524) classic literature (78) classics (616) collection (74) ebook (73) fantasy (69) feminism (559) feminist (110) fiction (2,752) horror (98) Kate Chopin (98) Library of America (94) literature (723) Louisiana (174) marriage (87) New Orleans (229) novel (281) own (112) poetry (121) read (262) short fiction (68) short stories (1,167) short story (80) stories (73) suicide (144) textbook (88) to-read (782) unread (120) USA (77) women (412) women writers (79) women's literature (79) women's studies (94)

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 O’Flaherty 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

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.
 
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mlevel | 177 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |
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)
 
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Andjhostet | 177 other reviews | Jul 4, 2023 |
The first half of this novel takes place on the seashore of the Gulf of Mexico, and Chopin vividly conveys the experience of spending leisure time on the coast in the summer: late-night dinners, midnight swims, watching the water for hours in the afternoon.

My other impressions of the novel pale in comparison to my pleasure at her understanding of the private beach scene, but I liked it. Edna awakens to become a self-absorbed, childish and alienated loner; the patriarchy proves resilient; fairy-tale endings are eschewed.… (more)
 
Flagged
proustbot | 177 other reviews | Jun 19, 2023 |
The Awakening by Kate Chopin has been sitting on the shelf for some time, purchased at a point in time when I thought I wanted to read more classics. This was Chopin's second book so it fit with the Classics CAT for February dealing with two or seconds. I knew the basic plot of a woman struggling to find an authentic life in a world where women are largely considered decorative. Once awakened by real love during her summer sojourn on Grand Isle, Edna Pontellier finds it impossible to return to her normal life as wife and mother in New Orleans. The book was very controversial when it was published at the turn of the century as Chopin described an early feminist mindset that really did threaten a world that circumcised women's lives. My edition is a study one with lots of interpretive essays as well as primary source documents from the books and magazines of the times with their guidance for women to be good wives and mothers.… (more)
½
 
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witchyrichy | 3 other reviews | Apr 30, 2023 |

Lists

AP Lit (1)
Read (1)
My TBR (1)
1890s (1)

Awards

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Nina Baym Designer, Editor
John Steinbeck Contributor
Sandra M. Gilbert Editor, Contributor
Elaine Showalter Introduction, Contributor
Joyce Carol Oates Contributor
Per Seyersted Editor, Contributor
Paula A. Treichler Contributor
Ruth Sullivan Contributor
Lewis Leary Contributor
Lee R. Edwards Contributor
Kenneth Eble Contributor
Dorothy Dix Contributor
Jules Chametzky Contributor
Elizabeth Ammons Contributor
Donald A. Ringe Contributor
Dunrobin Thomson Contributor
George M. Spangler Contributor
Marie Fletcher Contributor
Cyrille Arnavon Contributor
Daniel S. Rankin Contributor
Helen Taylor Contributor
Percival Pollar Contributor
George Arms Contributor
Larzer Ziff Contributor
Mary L. Shaffter Contributor
John R. May Contributor
Stewart Smith Contributor
Patricia S. Yaeger Contributor
Suzanne Wolkenfeld Contributor
Kaye Gibbons Introduction
Edith Wharton Contributor
Bernard Koloski Introduction
Edmund Wilson Foreword
Richard Sherman Contributor
John Updike Contributor
Ernest Hemingway Contributor
Shirley Schoonover Contributor
William Faulkner Contributor
J. F. Powers Contributor
Anne Warner Contributor
Sarah Orne Jewett Contributor
Alice Childress Contributor
Jean Stafford Contributor
Hamlin Garland Contributor
Sherwood Anderson Contributor
Joanne Greenberg Contributor
Dorothy Canfield Contributor
Tillie Olsen Contributor
Theodore Dreiser Contributor
Wright Morris Contributor
Toni Cade Bambara Contributor
Jessamyn West Contributor
Rona Jaffe Contributor
George P. Elliott Contributor
Emily Toth Editor
Marilynne Robinson Introduction
Liza Ross Narrator, Narrator
Grace Conlin Narrator
Geertje Lammers Translator
Laurie Klein Narrator
Kim Basinger Narrator
Thorstein Veblen Contributor
Rachel Adams Introduction
Gemma Correll Illustrator

Statistics

Works
168
Also by
64
Members
18,328
Popularity
#1,196
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
297
ISBNs
729
Languages
16
Favorited
53

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